A friendly reminder/Word of warning

I've barely been checking or posting here, as fortunately both me and my life are very much past the recovery phase. The number one thing that I feel needs to be emphasized is that recovery time CAN take way longer than the estimates most people/dr.'s give. If I had a rigid schedule I would have been screwed- If I viewed certain people finding out as unacceptable I would have been screwed.

While many have planned to a fairly tight schedule and been fine, even going with the best dr., vigorously stretching, and doing absolutely everything you're supposed to- There is no guarantee you'll be fine in the time needed. I will say I am an outlier in terms of my recovery time, but it took months upon months to walk with any semblance of normalcy. With a good dr. I think long term everyone will be fine which is why I just wanted to pop in and remind the community of something that I emphasized often when I posted here more.

Yes, I think the difference between 6 Cms and 8 is gigantic for example.

While I honestly don't have a time frame because it was such a long and incremental process, 10 months + sounds right for me as well. Way more than 6 months post op for sure- And in my case it was essential to get out the rods because of the limp they caused, and then my fracture.

While it was basically a lot of bad luck its a prime example to plan for the worst even when working with the best.

Quote from: google42 on June 13, 2017, 12:02:53 AMI think a lot of people assume that you just gather the money for surgery ($20-$100 thousand), and just somehow  take like 6-9 months of time out of your regular life, then your set. They don't realize that it's probably gonna be much harder to get this surgery done if they are not rich and don't own a business.

saving up just for the surgery will not be enough because you got to take into consideration your complications you might have, accommodation, and the extra recovery time where you may need extra money because you probably won't be working. Then there's worrying about your job that you have take time off from and not knowing if you'll be able to go back or get a paid leave while your recovering. You really have to get your crap together before doing this surgery.

This is the mindset I hope to dispel. People are so caught up on the up front costs that they can make them out to be the only barrier of entry in their mind. I don't blame people for focusing on the cash and the amount of pain the process induces, but I do want to hammer home how much more there is to it.

Its also important people know the difference between 6 and 8 CM. Not that I think you shouldn't do 8 CM if your hearts set on it- Many might not consider 6 CM to be worth it in general when considering the costs- But its very important to weigh the factors.

Quote from: Trevor.P on October 16, 2018, 01:03:36 AMSo the best thing is not to do this operation?

I talked to Paley about this and he did not want more than 5 cm in femur, he replied that in 4-6 months after stopping to lengthen he could go back to sports.

So what to believe?

Heres the thing, 5 CM is a world apart from 8. In my case I was not even normally walking etc in that time frame(though I personally met and know people who were). From my perspective it is ludicrous to expect that you can return to sports with any semblance of normalcy in that time frame, but I wouldn't be so dismissive as to call it impossible by any stretch. For all I know if I lengthened 5 I wouldn't have had complications and my recovery would have been swifter, perhaps even at 6 CM.

Factors that can help your prospects of a speedy and (near) full recovery are:
Amount lengthened- Tricky since its hard to resist doing as much as possible when you have already taken the plunge. Take it from me though, 1-2 CM can be a lot more manageable.

Physilogical luck- Theres really no other way to put it. Even in my case of being fit and diligent with stretching etc. my body just did not bounce back nearly as quickly as others who did similar amounts. I've compared diaries and its clear the experience can be night and day different from person to person.

Having help with you to assist with stretching. Aside from the aids I had briefly and some of the girls I had over, I didn't generally have anyone around for the more intense stretches requiring two people. Going with a family member etc. is definitely ideal but in a lot of peoples cases not viable.

I definitely feel like Dr.'s really downplay the recovery process, either disingenuously, or mentally relegating poor outcomes as aberrant. I made this thread not to scare people, or dissuade them outright, especially considering I am someone who is fully satisfied with my results despite a rough recovery and my fracture, but to keep them realistic while planning, and of course that there's always the possibility of a set back that really skews your plans.