It's been about 117 days since my surgery, and I have now maxed out the Fitbone nails in both legs. The right nail reached its maximum length on Day 107 of distraction, while the left one maxed out on Day 109.
It was a truly euphoric moment for me. Even after reaching my target length, I was still able to maintain around 120 degrees of knee flexion.
Dr. Parihar has not yet allowed me to begin full weight-bearing. He instructed me to stand for 30 seconds at a time, 15 times a day, while keeping most of my weight on the walker. He explained that once the callus formation becomes strong enough, we will gradually increase weight-bearing.
He has also prescribed Vitamin D3 and calcium supplements.
When I asked Dr. Parihar if I could stand for longer than 30 seconds, he replied:
"Tu mera phla bachcha haina, tu 30 seconds hi khade ho, mera 10th bachha hoga to usko shayad mai 10 min khade hone du"
English translation below.
"You're my first kid. You stand for 30 seconds only. Maybe when I have my tenth kid, I'll allow him to stand for 10 minutes."
Initially, I used to ask Dr. Parihar a lot of questions because I took this surgery very seriously. However, by the end of the distraction phase, I realized that Dr. Parihar is ten times more serious and cautious about this surgery than I could ever be. After that, I stopped questioning his decisions and simply trusted the process.
He's an angel. I genuinely don't have enough words to describe how grateful I am for everything he has done.
### What happens when the Fitbone maxes out?
One thing I noticed is that the sound of the nail changes noticeably once it reaches its maximum extension. You can clearly tell that something is different.
It starts to sound as if the motor can no longer rotate properly, or as if it is trying to reverse itself. In my left leg, the nail eventually stopped making any sound at all once it had fully maxed out.