Short2tall internal femurs with Dr. Mahboubian

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It always reminds me how humbling it is at first, in which going to the bathroom is an accomplishment. It's like you're a newborn again!

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Hey thanks Android. It is amazing how humbling it is, and the fact that you have to rely on a lot of people for help at first. The one positive part about that is that it does make the day go by much faster.

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Day 6

  Today was the best day yet. Was able to get out of bed and transfer to wheelchair by myself again. After breakfast, with my caretaker keeping an eye on me, I was able to take about 20 steps with the walker in the hallway. Later I was able to transfer to the toilet and go #2 again. I'm starting to get into somewhat of a routine. Still very little pain. Took one Norco around 3 am this morning to help me fall back asleep. I may take one more when I'm ready to go to sleep tonight. My legs are aching just a little bit, probably from the fair amount of walking I did today. Only a few more days until my follow up.

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Day 7

  It's hard to believe that tomorrow morning will make 7 days since my surgery! Then only one more day til my post-op with Dr. M. Nothing really exciting to report today. I did feel a bit of pain in my left leg near the osteotomy site while walking down the hall with my walker today. I'm thinking i may have been compensating for the slight pain I was having in my right hip (basically gone now) by putting more pressure on my left leg. It doesn't seem like anything serious is wrong, just a little ache. I am trying not to take any more pain pills for right now, unless something really starts to hurt.

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Day 8

   Today went well. I woke up to a little stiffness and swelling in my left knee and ankle. I guess this was the result of the little bit of pain that I was feeling the day before. After icing it during breakfast, it felt much better and the swelling went down. When I was done with breakfast, I went out in the hallway to take some steps with my walker. I was anticipating a little bit of pain, but felt none. I walked 15 or 20 steps and it felt great to get moving for a while. I haven't taken a Norco in over 48 hrs. I've just been taking ZQuil to help sleep, and it's been working ok so far. I'm excited for my post-op appointment tomorrow, although I'm going to have to figure out a better way to get into the car. I hope everything goes smoothly and I'm allowed to start lengthening. I will also post X-rays if I receive any.

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short2tall,

It's great how you don't feel any pain and can go for that long without a Norco. I'm still taking 1 Norco plus 1/2 Ibuprofen every 4-6 hours. I hope I'll feel the same or similar when I do my femurs next week. Good luck with your post-op appointment with Dr. M and keep us posted.

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Thanks Optimistic1! I just got back from me post-op and it went well. The Precise rep showed me how to use the machine. Then Dr. M took off my bandages and marked my thighs so I know where to put the ERC when lengthening. I have to return a week from today to get my sutures removed. Then another week after that for my next visit with Dr. M. I'm assuming that's when they take the first X-rays? As soon as I got home from the appointment I took a shower for the first time since surgery. It felt so good! It was a little difficult because I only have the standard bath bench/chair and not an actual transfer bench, but all in all not bad. I do have some pictures I would like to post, but I'm having trouble at the moment.

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short2tall,

You can go to Imgur, create an account then post your pictures on there. Copy the link and paste it on here. That's the best way to post your images as the attachment option here is very limited in terms of capacity.

I know how it feels when you can finally shower, lol. I'm a clean freak and I have OCD too so it was amazing when I could finally shower. Make sure to get your sutures removed on time and don't wait for too long. I waited for too long so the it healed over my stitches. The doctor had to dig down and take the dried scrapes out so there's a small hole on my leg. It's healing but I think I might have a big scar. Dr. M had to cancel my post-op appointment so I had to fly back to my hometown to have the sutures removed. It's painful when it heals over the stitches.

I'm still using my shower chair in the shower. It's not the same as standing up but it gets the job done. What's your pain level. How well do you tolerate pain in general. For me, it depends but I think I am average. I'm not a cry baby but I also hate dealing with pain, lol. Hang in there and keep us posted.

Optimistic1

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Thanks for explaining that Optimistic1. Guys, let me know if these links work. The first pic is my ERC machine:

https://imgur.com/yZ4FNvU

This next one shows some of my sutures, and where Dr. M marked my thigh so I know where to put the ERC:

https://imgur.com/XCYUYOW

Finally, here is a pic showing the only real bruising that I have from the surgery, underneath my thigh:

https://imgur.com/dDuos3h

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Day 10

   Today was the first day that my PT started really pushing me. WOW. Much tougher than I expected. I believe that I have a high pain threshold, but this was intense. She advised me to take a Norco before the session, which was smart. I hadn't taken one in about 3 days prior to this, but I'm glad I listened to her. Certain stretches, like trying to touch heel to butt, were excruciating. You just have to keep reminding yourself that it is for your own good. Intense PT really is the only way to reach your lengthening goals, as well as making for a faster recovery. My PT is very knowledgeable and I feel like I'm in good hands. She accompanied me to my post-op yesterday and asked Dr. M some specific questions about what she could and couldn't do with me. I'm definitely going to work on the stretches that I had a difficult time with on my own as often as possible. Right now my plan is to have formal PT sessions M-W-F, so 3 times a week. I'm aware that it may be necessary to increase to 4-5 sessions per week later in the lengthening phase. We will see how it goes.