I stopped lengthening at 6cm last week, 1cm short of my goal. For the past few months, standing up was hard due to pain in my inner knees due to tightness, and the pain from shin splints, so I got tighter and tighter. X-rays last week were good and aligned. Only the muscles need to catch up. It was super depressing for me the whole time, from ruined relationships to isolation while slowly tightening up and losing function. Fast forward to now, my once considerably tight calves are showing signs of improvement. No more inner knee pain, and shin splints are mostly resolved. Going to stand some more using the walker. In about 6 weeks time, I should be cleared to lightly jog. In that time, I need to gain the muscle flexibility and strength to stand upright and walk. For now, I can't straighten my knees for example, and I can't get my heels to the ground. I suspect that I will progressively get back to normal. I couldn't study at all during this time, due to depression and isolation. While Tramadol, lyrica and paracetamol were the correct medications to prescribe to me, as to not hinder the bone healing process, none of them had a pain relieving effect on me. I disliked my physiotherapy. I would not recommend Mediterraneo Hospital at all, and Dr. Giotikas knows this from many patient reports. I suspect he will not send patients there anymore. When Covid began ramping up in Greece, we were moved to a different physio place far away (which was costly via taxi). It was only one week of going there that they decided the new center would close down too. Very inconvenient for planning my living situation, but it wasn't their fault completely. Fed up from the uncertainty, I left back home the next day. Now I'm back home and I am not as depressed as before. When I can start to walk and see my friends again, things will look up. All in all, things are headed in the right direction. I seemed to have a harder time than the average, so results may vary. So far, I would say Dr. Giotikas is a safe choice. He was always available via whatsapp, and I enjoyed his demeanor and professionalism from the start. The thing to be happy about now is that 6cm on my tibias has created the perfect porportions for me, as my femurs were much longer in the beginning. They look great, and with muscle building, they will hopefully look better. I'd also like to give a big shoutout to cyborg4life for giving me his routine for post lengthening recovery, as well as my friend eddiemorra for keeping me company in Athens through it all. That's all for now.
