G-Nail on femurs in Greece on Aug24th. Let's do this!!!

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Hey Ozboy, thanks so much for taking the time to contribute to this forum, wishing you all the best in your recovery.
As a fellow Australian, any specific advice or issues in getting the surgery done? How were the long distance flights to and from Europe, getting through the airports, I’m assuming exchange rates led to increase costs, have you found a local doctor to work with while back in aus?  etc.

I’m getting surgery start of 2024 but it just seems like alot more issues to consider being from Australia…

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Hey buddy,

Thanks for that.
My first advice we come from such far a distance is to do whatever you can to book a biz class return flight.

Getting through airports was kind of a breeze when you're on a wheelchair. At each airport the staff were super helpful and carried me and my luggage around. I had zero problems  there.

Re the exchange rate i do remember that by the time you converted your expenses from EUR to AUD things started to get  expensive, but  we are indeed spending about 100K overall so... Not a big deal overall

I am only working with my GP and a general physiotherapist. None of them had any prior experience or exposure to LL.
 
The GP role is kind of a supporting role. He got the report from the doc from Greece and then just kept monitoring me throughout the months. Physio is just tailoring and adjusting standard rehab routines to my condition after reading and researching about it. So 0verall no big dramas.

After doing the same routine day in day out in Greece for more than 3 months, you sort of become the expert of your body and already know what you should and shouldn't do.

So yeah, i wouldn't stress much about the distance.
Where are you planning on doing it?

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Hey Oz,

Life back to pretty much normal now? When you planning on taking out nail?

Also, were you able to walk quite well after 3 weeks post OP?

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Hi Kanye,

Sort of. When I say normal i mean i can operate more or less normally without having to rely on crutches... However, right now I have the agility and strength of a sedentary 90 yr old.

My Xrays are looking good where the bone ends have finally reached each other but they aren't yet calcified.
Doc estimated another 2 to 3 months for full consolidation (my bones have been slow growing from day one).

I definitely couldn't walk normally 3 weeks after lengthening. Even now i don't walk "normal". I can walk, but it's noticeable by everybody that i got some issue going on.

It's improving on a weekly basis but slowly. If I push too hard with walking or exercising, i get really sore.

So yeah, still going through the process, but life as in the basic daily functions are back to normal.

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Very helpful man, thanks so much for your reply. Thanks for sharing with everyone too. I was planning to do through Donghoon lee in South Korea due to travel distance being less, but your diary is potentially changing my mind as Donghoon is booked out for ages. I was worried about the long flight back from Europe or US but seems like you navigated that pretty well. Note I’m only doing 4cm (I 100% know that is enough for me and all I need), so my recovery should hopefully be a little quicker.
I’m from Melbourne by the way. Great to hear another aussies journey…. Please continually keep us updated. Thanks again

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Good to hear. Glad if I can help with my experience.
Man, 4 cm is a little over a month of lengthening. Not even the time to enjoy Greece lol.

Yeah I'm sure you'll be much quicker in recovering.

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I can't imagine 'enjoying Greece' while lengthening tbh. Now I might have a skewed perspective as I only completed surgery last week but the idea of going out sightseeing etc seems so far off from my reality right now...it takes all my strength just to get to the PT sessions, do my stretches, click, and just general surviving as a guy without any use of his legs where even basic tasks takes 10x as long as they did before.

Does it get any better? :S Don't get me wrong I'm still glad to be doing the surgery but when I hear people talking about going out to restaurants, bars, the beach etc I just can't imagine it...

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Sure it gets better. You only 1 week post op. You're in the midst of the worst time period. I'm sure in a couple of weeks from now you'll start to think differently.

Provided you're on a gnail. If you're on precise...well then you're stuck on a wheel chair for a few months

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Quote from: OzBoy39 on April 23, 2023, 04:15:31 AMSure it gets better. You only 1 week post op. You're in the midst of the worst time period. I'm sure in a couple of weeks from now you'll start to think differently.

Provided you're on a gnail. If you're on precise...well then you're stuck on a wheel chair for a few months

Yeah I'm on gnail. Clicking on the left leg is extremely painful and I've never managed to do that by myself, need the nurse to come help me.

Then I see people posting they do all 15 clicks in a few mins with no pain and then hit the beach after, feels like a different world. I guess I'll just hope it gets better!

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If it helps try go watch the videos i made on page 2 or 3...
I had problems clicking with what the nurses call "conventional" technique with your legs spread on a pillow and you pushing the knee down. It never worked for me.

Then i worked onto he clicking myself and changed  to a different technique which made clicking super easy. Check the videos and perhaps try for yourself.
Slowly....very slowly is the key to avoid pain.

Plus it's only the first week. It indeed is painful. But it gets way better.