Quote from: Android on April 30, 2018, 07:10:57 PMNot only is the surgery intense, it's only the start of the arduous journey. Many things can go wrong at this time, and even if complications are minimal, isolation can have an effect.
During recovery (3+ months for PRECICE), I had what I could call very mild PTSD: seeing triggers like the "LG" TV logo when booting up saying "Life's Good" and bursting into tears, "NO IT'S NOT GOOD, I'M A CRIPPLE!!!". I'd also dreamed, maybe a couple times a month, that I was walking, then realize "Oh ｓｈｉｔ I shouldn't be walking!!!". In reality, there's no way you can get up and walk, only to realize you can't.
Isolation does have a negative effect on one's psyche, so it pays off to do STRYDE instead of PRECICE, so that you can get back to normal life sooner, even if that means hanging out in the town where you have the surgery, since you might have to do PT there every workday for the duration of the lengthening.
Quote from: Android on April 30, 2018, 07:10:57 PMThere's also the dread of knowing that you have another surgery coming up after consolidation.
If you mean the rods removal surgery, that can only take place 1+ years after the first surgery, and it's minimal compared to the implantation. As in, you can walk unaided the same day, at least with Paley.