To anyone seriously considering this surgery: don't do it. If you're doing all right, you're doing much better than you think. Don't do what I did, and believe the surgeon who told you his technique heals faster and stronger than the "true" Ertl procedure. I still had stitches at 5 weeks; a true Ertl has stitches for 10 days. A true Ertl is walking within 4 weeks.
I'm now 8 weeks post-op, and I still don't have "significant bony healing" (their words.) So, it'll be another 4 weeks before I can think about a prosthesis. But don't worry, when those 4 weeks are up, and I've slipped and fallen on the ice too many times to count, then it'll just be another 6 weeks. In other words, I'll most likely never walk again. All because I was greedy, and wanted to be able to run. This should be an awesome Christmas.
If, by some miracle, I ever do walk again, I'll be too fat to walk more than 10 feet without having a heart attack. For those who don't know, spending every waking second on crutches is probably the worst possible way to go through life. Drop something? That's a 30-second penalty, and hopefully you don't lose your balance. Need to carry coffee across the room? Better take your time, and don't spill a drop. Oops, you did spill a drop, now that's a 2-minute penalty as you try to wipe it up without falling over. Need to carry anything at all up or down the stairs? Good luck.
When I'm not sitting at my desk all day, I'm sitting at home. Because I no longer have any desire to walk around. Thus, I'm probably gaining about a pound a day. That's pretty easy to do when all you do is sit and eat all day.
What if I just never go back for any more follow-ups?
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