Limb Lengthening, Weeks 4-END: Lengthening and Consolidation
9/20 /19
12:17
Wow. ⅔ of the way through September already. My leg is feeling much better. Lengthening doesn’t hurt at all now. My flexion is good and my range of motion is getting much better. Rotating my left femur to the right hurts, but that’s it. Twisting the femur is basically the only source of pain I feel. Probably because there’s new bone. trying to grow, and at this point, it’s nowhere close to being solid. My scars feel great, too. Working on hamstring, quad, and IT band flexibility. I wish I could give more updates more frequently but they would be insanely boring and repetitive. I’m doing really well, though. Progress at this point has been steady, small steps forwards.
10/1/2019
06:56
I am meeting with doctors today. Insane to think that I only have 12 days left of lengthening. The past 40 or so days have flown by thanks to school. Going to school makes surgery so much less dominating. I think about it less because I’m distracted by other, more important, things. The x-ray pictures look awesome. Each day, the 1mm of distraction feels infinitesimally small, but when 14 or so of those lengthening add up, it looks impressive on the screen.
10/12/19
15:37
Finished lengthening today. Insanely happy. This journey is one step closer to being over. All 50mm done. I thought it was 51mm. Apparently not. Now the real recovery begins. So far, I’ve been putting about 50lbs (at the absolute MAX) of weight through my left leg.
11/10/19
19:22
PT has continued. I’m getting stronger in almost every dimension. I’ve started to put more weight on my leg. Not just 50 lbs of weight. I can comfortably put about 100 lbs of my bodyweight through the left side. And every week, that number goes up. I’m not “pushing it,” so to speak. I’m being cognizant of how my leg feels when I add extra weight. I’m not trying to reverse my progress. Hobbling around with crutches is getting old. Getting used to the feeling of a normal discrepancy, too. It’s a weird experience to have almost even legs. Feels not-normal to be normal. It will be fun learning how to walk again. Flexion is good, scars are healing well, and pain is basically non existent. I’m off Tylenol. Currently I’m not taking anything other than those addictive vitamin C and D gummies.
11/23/19
08:45
Re-learning how to walk has been one of the most frustratingly difficult PT exercises I’ve ever done. Some habits are hard to break. But I’ve walked incorrectly for about 13 years. And all the small mini-habits that created my walking style (pre-surgery) are fighting me right now. Some things I never realized I did before I was fully corrected:
Because my left leg was shorter, I didn’t really bend my left knee AT ALL when I walked
I do not have strong left gluteus muscles because I’ve always flexed my foot to keep me level instead of my glute muscles. So yeah, that’s a real pain in the ass.
My left foot always landed on the toes, not the heel. Now I have to reverse that. This will definitely take some time getting used to.
Good luck with all of that. I’ve also been practicing lifting my left leg laterally while lying on my right side. The adductor muscles that are supposed to be on my left side have shriveled up into nonexistence. Gonna have to work on those.
12/04/19
16:58
Walking is getting a lot more normal. In the past couple of weeks, I’ve chipped away at the old, unhealthy walking habits I subconsciously endorsed. Now I’m walking with only the slightest limp. Not noticeable unless you’re trying to find something wrong with the way I walk. Most people aren’t concerned with that, anyway. My flexion is almost as good as that of my right knee’s. Strength is 90% of the way back. I’m almost completely off crutches. Almost. I use them when I’m in public or when I’m at school, but they’re mostly there in case I need them. At home, I do not use crutches. I’m learning how to walk again, which is something I dedicate a lot of time to each day. I’m learning how to go up stairs, too. Give me two more weeks and I’ll be fully healed (I hope).
12/24/19
23:23
One day away from Christmas. I remember that I thought that by this time I would be getting off crutches. And here I am, walking around with the slightest limp. Feels amazing to say that. My left leg has grown 2 whole inches. I’m gaining all my strength back, from side leg raises to front raises to quad extensions etc. Grateful for all that I have around me. Latest xrays show good bone formation and seems like I’m in a pretty good place right now. AND I bought my very first pair of normal shoes. This has been a tiring, rewarding, frustrating, but ultimately unbelievable experience. I’ve grown 2 inches of bone in the past 4 months. Muscles, ligaments, tendons, nerves, veins, and arteries have all had to stretch and grow. I’m extremely grateful to everyone who has supported me. I couldn’t have done it without all of you.
