Hahah yeah right! 
I'm fairly calm still. Really trying to focus my mind on work and other things.
Today I'll go for the pre-op visit. I'm sure after that it'll be game on and we'll see how I feel then.
But again, so far it's not much about the surgery itself but really the doubts I have about what's coming next
Is the clicking gonna hurt? What does the anaesthesia feel like? How painful will i be at wake up? Will I be able to walk to the wc and back? Will I be able to go down to the kitchen with crutches? How am I gonna sleep? Will I need to hire a nurse?
The fear of all that's unknown I guess. I'll try and keep myself to the present moment at each stage and cope with one thing at a time.
Ah and I marked the wall with a pencil with the various targets im after 168cm, 170, 172. That hopefully will keep my eye and spirit focused on the prize.
G-Nail on femurs in Greece on Aug24th. Let's do this!!!
Quote from: OzBoy39 on August 23, 2022, 04:37:18 AMHahah yeah right!
I'm fairly calm still. Really trying to focus my mind on work and other things.
Today I'll go for the pre-op visit. I'm sure after that it'll be game on and we'll see how I feel then.
But again, so far it's not much about the surgery itself but really the doubts I have about what's coming next
Is the clicking gonna hurt? What does the anaesthesia feel like? How painful will i be at wake up? Will I be able to walk to the wc and back? Will I be able to go down to the kitchen with crutches? How am I gonna sleep? Will I need to hire a nurse?
The fear of all that's unknown I guess. I'll try and keep myself to the present moment at each stage and cope with one thing at a time.
Ah and I marked the wall with a pencil with the various targets im after 168cm, 170, 172. That hopefully will keep my eye and spirit focused on the prize.
Hi OzBoy,
We are all watching over you here behind you to make sure to keep safe!
Thank you Infinite.
Drinks are on me when this is all over.
Today is D day. I'll provide a detailed update when I'm on the other side and officially become a cyborg.
Good luck!!
Quote from: OzBoy39 on August 23, 2022, 04:37:18 AMHahah yeah right!
I'm fairly calm still. Really trying to focus my mind on work and other things.
Today I'll go for the pre-op visit. I'm sure after that it'll be game on and we'll see how I feel then.
But again, so far it's not much about the surgery itself but really the doubts I have about what's coming next
Is the clicking gonna hurt? What does the anaesthesia feel like? How painful will i be at wake up? Will I be able to walk to the wc and back? Will I be able to go down to the kitchen with crutches? How am I gonna sleep? Will I need to hire a nurse?
The fear of all that's unknown I guess. I'll try and keep myself to the present moment at each stage and cope with one thing at a time.
Ah and I marked the wall with a pencil with the various targets im after 168cm, 170, 172. That hopefully will keep my eye and spirit focused on the prize.
I like the technique of marking the wall. That gives you something clear you can visualise and work towards.
And we made it. Nails are in, I'm in bed Nd just woke up. 216am
This won't be a detailed update, but first feelings, thoughts are
No pain so far.
Very stiff legs. I can bend them back but it takes a good minute to slowly flex.
No nausea, no vomiting or anything like that. I feel really good actually.
We did a couple of clicks a few hours back when I woke up from anaesthesia and it was ok. No pain, just the awful sound.
This place is really good. The room I'm in is definitely better than the hotel .
I stood up before together with the nurse and it was ok although not sure il be able to take steps yet. We'll try that today.
I'll provide more details later hopefully if I can manage to use my laptop.
Thank you everyone so far for the support
I'm glad to hear it went well and you haven't got much pain!
Sounds like they might've made some improvements to the place compared to some previous diaries I've read.
Do you know how much Dr G. lengthened your leg during surgery? I wasn't aware they get you to do clicks on day 1. I thought they usually wait a week before starting clicks.
Did you get a catheter by any chance? I read they give you the option prior to surgery for that too.
Hi thankscience
Yes, as far as comfort goes, I'm on level4 which is the newer section of the hospital and it's really nice up here.
I haven't asked about how much he lengthened. I was a bit fuzzy yesterday and didn't make many questions at all. I just wanted to sleep.
Yes I got a catheter down there. They will remove it today thanks goodness. Not painful but weird. It almost feels like you're peeing on yourself and everything I adjust myself OJ the bed I can feel it moving .
The clicks do start after 1 week but they wanted to show me how it worked and also see if I had any pain doing it. In all honesty though, yesterday I was on whatever painkiller they had on my IV line, so not sure if this pain free click will stay that way.
I stopped taking iv painkillers at around 230am last night and i dont have any pain so far. I just feel compression on my legs which are super stiff and swollen.
I guess it's time for an update
Day 2 post op
-The GOODS
The entire team of doctor Giotikas (starting with himself) have been fantastic. Since the day before the ops to now and ongoing I have full assistance and support on anything I need.
They've provided me with every inch of support I was needing (especially pre surgery I was getting a bit anxious). I'm super happy with them.
The hospital residence absolutely above anything I could imagine. Food, nurses, the room (which is better than my hotel).
The care I'm receiving in terms of checkups, instructions IV medication and anything else definitely 5 star rated.
- The BAD
My legs, I mean I was not expecting moving to be this hard. Yes it is only day 2 post op, but although I am mobile through either walker or wheelchair, getting in and out of bed is a super struggle, if I don't move for like 10 minutes I basically get stuck and it takes a further minute to be able to slooowly bend your leg again (with also a decent amount of pain). Said that though, of I don't move (when I'm in bed watching something, I don't feel a thing).
This morning I managed to also sit on the toilette bowl and it hurts whilst sitting. I had to hold part of my weight with my hands. I just had to wee but wanted to try to see how number 2 would feel... well it doesn't feel good. I'm curious to see what ll happen when my bowel starts moving again.
Then moving on, the stiffness of my legs as soon as I don't use them for 5 minutes. It's incredible. It takes that little time to make them super stiff. And then you need a couple of leg raises and knee bends to release them a little bit. But they are always always stiff. A comparison for me is like imagine if you were to do your hardest leg day at the gym coming from a period of stop. The day after youd be very stiff. Now multiply by 3.
The size of my leg is such that the shorts I had brought with me and also a pair of joggers I have, no longer fit
-The REST
The G-Nail feels super solid. And once again the ability to move around (as goofy as I am now) and be able to go to the bathroom, wash yourself, go pickup a laptop or whatever far outweighs the complexity behind the clicking. This is still my opinion and we'll see if that changes in the next few weeks.
Clicking so far has been ok. I only did 4 in total and today we'll do a few more just for me to get use to, bit I believe with the proper technique and warm-up/ stretching prior to that, it should hopefully be uneventful. They'll send a cycling bike to my hotel room so that'll help with the process.
That's it for now. I gotta stay strong. Mindset is the key because this, as man of you have said already, ain't no simple surgery. It'll test your willpower as it's doing with mine.
Last, if you're planning on doing this, please...please work on your upper body strength. I don't know what I would do if I couldn't lift my body up with my arms... it would be impossible.
If you do that then i believe that this journey can be done solo
Catch you next time people
Thanks for the update. I'm glad to hear you're getting all the support you need! You've got this 
Did the Dr say how long you might be on the walker until you can move to crutches? Also how long will you be staying at the hospital before moving back to the hotel?
Hey Thankscience,
Thanks!
Yes, I'll be on the walker for the first 3 weeks, then move to crutches. And also I'll be hopping around rather than walking as per instructions. This is because they don't really want you to do something stupid and hurt yourself or worst bend the nail (I totally understand it as my ability to potentially recover from a wrong step is practically zero). Hopping around is not too hard if you got good upper body strength.
Today I'll actually try the crutches with the physio and then around mid morning I'll be discharged and back to the hotel.
One of Dr Giotikas nurses will come with me to the hotel to help transfering all the things they have provided me (walker wheelchair, showers stool, crutches, meds).
Next week then we'll start the physio and lengthening journey.
A nurse will come in the first few days I guess to help with the clicking, but the goal is to become independent. I'll try and master it soon if I can.
On a side note, physical condition is improving rapidly. Last night I managed to sleep from 9pm to now 7am (woke up a couple of times but overall an awesome sleep). This just because i rolled on my tummy and on my side too (I really can't sleep on my back).
So for the ones who are concerned about this aspect of the process, although rolling is very tricky, it can be done. I got one accidental click doing so (the small one) and that's it.
Last point for the day, I haven't been able to go to the wc for number 2 yet. They say it's normal but I would really like to release a few extra kg off my body (it'll also help with nail strength I guess )
Have a great day everyone
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