congrats bro looks good as if you'd never got surgery, a tad bit slow going down but that's you being careful and the beginning stages of what's to come.
Dr. Giotikas - external tibia/Stryde - Diary 2018/2019
Congratulations on your progress. You look great on the stairs and are ahead of me on recovery.
By comparison, our initial surgeries were within one month of each other; however, I lengthened about 9 cm compared to your 5 cm so it is expected that my recovery will take longer.
Even so, I walked about 7 uneventful miles this Saturday just to see if I could but still would like to be able to go down stairs like you.
Keep working at it!
Quote from: Movie on December 03, 2019, 06:35:06 PMcongrats bro looks good as if you'd never got surgery, a tad bit slow going down but that's you being careful and the beginning stages of what's to come.
Thanks! Yes I'm still cautious! I don't even want to imagine how it could be like falling on my knees.
Quote from: California2 on December 03, 2019, 10:19:38 PMCongratulations on your progress. You look great on the stairs and are ahead of me on recovery.
By comparison, our initial surgeries were within one month of each other; however, I lengthened about 9 cm compared to your 5 cm so it is expected that my recovery will take longer.
Even so, I walked about 7 uneventful miles this Saturday just to see if I could but still would like to be able to go down stairs like you.
Keep working at it!
Thank you! Right 9cm is a whole different level but I'm sure with enough PT and stretching of the calves you will be climbing stairs like a pro soon
7 miles sound quite a lot! I think I could do that only with a lot of stops ...
just want to share how my PT looks like currently. I still go to my PT 3 times per week, we exercise things like kneeling and I definitely notice an improvement but I don't dare yet to put my knees/shins with its whole weight on a surface, also because numb skin(parts of my shins) on a hard surface just feels "icky". I also go to the gym 3 times per week and thus I don't do anything additionally at home except for stretching my calves/Achilles tendons and walking around.
At the gym I work on machines that are part of something called "Milon Zirkel" which according to my PT can replace the exercises I normally should have done at home. There are 12 machines. About half of them are for the legs/lower body and the other half for the upper body. In the beginning I did the elliptical trainer a few times but I stopped since it causes pain in the shins that I might not be ready for yet. All the machines are automatically adapted to one's own body and strength after letting it scan your wristband. I was able to increase the difficulty level of all machines except for two. One of them you see in the picture below with the woman using it. There you have to raise your legs and push something up. For me it's set to the lowest level it can get but it is still exhausting. I believe that it's because 1. my muscles are still too weak and 2. because certain parts of my upper shin (where the cut was made I guess) and sometimes the knees still hurt with certain exercises (but not always)
The other machine I still can't do better is the machine you can see in the back (man with yellow/green shoes), just the opposite, where you have to press something down. My left leg is stronger than my right, so only my right tibia (fracture area) seem to have a problem with that machine. (happens whenever I have to stop this thing for a moment as it goes upwards automatically.)
Weirdly my left shin hurts when I stretch my calves/Achilles tendons (but the right tibia doesn't), and when I do the "pushing something down movement" it's only the right tibia that hurts. The "pain" is not always the same level, sometimes less, sometimse more but it never stops me from doing those exercises.
I assume that it's the nails that cause those problems. My local orthopedist had told me that it would be better to remove the nails after complete consolidation because it could be possible that I'd need a knee replacement in like 50 years (not because of LL, but generally) and the nails need to be out for such a thing which won't be possible then. Dr. Giotikas on the other hand said that if the nails don't cause any problems they can be left inside. Since he does knee replacements according to his website I will ask him what he thinks about the other doctor's statement. I think that I will let the nails be removed either way even if I'm afraid of another surgery because that might lead to more numbness. (I hope not) 
New video - 3 months since the LATN surgery and about 14 months after the first surgery
--> https://i.imgur.com/c2Zi2d6.mp4
I'm living everyday life without any major problems. I can sit up and down without the help of my hands unless it's really quite low. I can go into the bath tub, shower, go outside on my own, drive the car, walk, sit down for a longer time.
What I still can't is
-squatting without holding on to sth
- kneeling
- "Indian style sitting" <- that's what was written in the online dictionary
- sometimes I can walk for an hour or more, sometimes half an hour tires my tibias
- I can stand straight but unlike before the LL surgery I literally feel my femur muscles tight in order to keep my body straight, the more I stretch my calves/achilles tendons before the easier it gets but in everyday life I don't think that anyone would notice it as you can also stand by putting one foot a bit in front or behind the other foot and that makes you stand straight without any effort as well. I have to confess that I don't stretch the calves as much as I should. I'll start to do more now and stand on my calf board for half an hour, tomorrow I'll do certain exercises and then I'll stand on the calf board for an hour (probably not in one sitting). I'm sure that this will be solved with time. The only time I notice it is when I walk right after waking up, my achilles tendons need a few steps to stretch until my gait looks normal again, and when I try to stand straight with both feet right next to each other
Here is a summary of my walking videos so far. you have to know that before my LATN surgery I still used the walker most of the time because of knee pain on the right side. My mistake was that I didn't let remove one wire/pin a lot earlier when it had started to constantly cause problems.
Quote from: Great321 on May 12, 2019, 04:59:19 PMVideo of me walking
https://imgur.com/a/UqvQquN
Quote from: Great321 on June 06, 2019, 10:19:11 PMNew video
https://imgur.com/a/YPgA2jz
Quote from: Great321 on October 05, 2019, 12:15:13 PMNew Video
This is me walking unaided: (I hold the crutches for safety reasons)
https://i.imgur.com/uLSMEUl.mp4
Quote from: Great321 on October 22, 2019, 01:13:35 PM.
Here is a video of me walking unaided from today:
https://i.imgur.com/fVLoEHZ.mp4
Quote from: Great321 on December 14, 2019, 10:43:24 PMNew video - 3 months since the LATN surgery and about 14 months after the first surgery
--> https://i.imgur.com/c2Zi2d6.mp4
My physiotherapist wanted me to kneel today on a rather soft surface on the floor and it worked. I kneeled, first with only one knee and then with both knees. I supported myself with holding on to sth with one hand.
I can also touch the floor with my finger tips when I bend down.
Just came back from the gym. Today was the first day that my right shin didn't bother me when I did that certain exercise on the machine (see picture above) I guess that my legs got stronger now. I can also climb down the gym stairs faster.
Update - X-rays - 3 months, 1 week post LATN surgery
These are my new X-rays. On the left side you see the X-rays from last month. On the right, the ones from today. I'm especially happy to see my "left side tibia" progressing much better.
Right Front: https://i.imgur.com/7WwxTkc.jpg
Right Side: https://i.imgur.com/7b6yjHg.jpg
Left Front: https://i.imgur.com/WwATTur.jpg
Left Side: https://i.imgur.com/vzB59RD.jpg
I have talked to Dr. Giotikas about my X-rays. He said that I won't need bone grafting in the future which I was very afraid of. He noticed that my left leg's bone growth is faster but that there was progress in both legs and that the callus will get even stronger in the next months. He said that unless the nails cause pain I shouldn't worry about removing them in preparation of something like a knee replacement in 50 years (which I'm not more at risk as any other person). And that the nails can be removed also in many years if needed. The nail removal surgery would cost under 2.000€. In 10 weeks I'll get next X-rays. Until then I'm not supposed to jump or run, we will talk again then.
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