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Surgery On April 30, Recovery (Updated May 20)

John T. Haller's picture
Submitted by John T. Haller on April 30, 2014 - 12:01am

As many regular visitors know, I was injured and had surgery on my leg in December and last posted an update about it last month. I'm heading in for my followup surgery today and wanted to post a quick update.

As a quick recap, I slipped on some ice on a sidewalk in December and broke my ankle/leg. It was bad enough that it needed a 6 day hospital stay and surgery. The recovery period was a bit slow at first but has been progressing. I've been doing physical therapy for a few months and am currently allowed to put up to 50lbs on my leg. I get around on crutches.

At first, it affected some updates of software on the site, but I've since progressed back to working full time. As a result, apps are up to date, new apps are flowing, and the platform has even gotten a quick 12.0 Beta 3 release.

As mentioned in my last update, financially, I was fortunate to have insurance, as I always have due to my pre-existing condition. If I hadn't had insurance, my health bills would be over $40,000 ($35k for the hospital alone, excluding anesthesia, pain management, ambulance, physical therapy, and followups). With insurance, I'm at about $4,000 so far. A couple people have inquired about assisting with this, so I have setup a donation page on my personal site for those who are interested.

Today's surgery will remove the immobilization screws that are allowing the tissues to heal. The metal plate and other screws will remain to help strengthen the bone. I was scheduled for surgery a couple weeks back but wound up with either the flu or bronchitis, so it was delayed until today.

Unlike the surgery in December, today's is much less involved and I'll be going home the same day. The recovery and pain should be less involved as well, so it should not affect app releases or site updates. As always, I've made arrangements should anything go awry.

I'll post an update when I'm able to post surgery. Thank you again everyone for your support.

Post Surgery Update (April 30)

The surgery went well. It only took about an hour (plus the usual hours of hospital waiting). I got home this evening and got my leg up and relaxed. The pain is much better than after surgery in December, as expected. I'll have some time of keeping it up to heal, so I won't be working full time the rest of the week. But I'll still have time handle app updates, maintenance, and some forum responses.

Thanks again everyone for your support and kind words! Smile

First Steps (May 5)

The big news is that I took my first tentative, unassisted steps this weekend. My first crutch-free steps in nearly 5 months. I have a lot of work to do in physical therapy round 2 now that my second surgery is done, but progress is a good thing!

Followup, Physical Therapy, More Steps (May 20)

My followup appointment following my 2nd surgery went well and the doctor told me that things are healing as they should. I've been given permission for full weight with a cane for balance while outside. No running or jumping until my second followup in July. I also started my new set of physical therapy on Monday which will focus on balance, strengthening and range of motion. So far my insurance is denying paying for it, but I'm working on an appeal. I'll now be getting out for a walk each day and am able to manage the stairs in my 4th floor walkup with minimal assistance. It'll be painful for a while, but worth it to keep getting better. Thanks again everyone for your kind words and support!

Comments

Hope this is the final one and after that you are back on your feet soon!

Hi John,

We've not comunicated before but I'm an enthusiastic user of your apps, and I do spread the word about them whenever possible.

Just writing to wish you a speedy recovery, and to thank you for your massive dedication to this important work.

I'm sorry that healthcare in the US is so onerously expensive. The present government here in the UK is trying to sell off our NHS as fast as they can, and to dismantle it so that we end up with the same system you have there. All for personal profit. :/

Anyway, I'll shutup! Biggrin
Get well soon!

Best wishes
Tony

If you were an actor, I would say «Break a leg!», but that may not be the correct expression here, so i will stick to «God bedring!» (Get well soon!) and thank you very much for the good work.

(Many fellow Norwegians complain of high taxes – but health insurance is included. I had surgery some years ago, and all in all I had to pay something like $ 350.)

Lord_Theren's picture

I wish you a speedy recovery and thank you for the new platform beta release!

The two most important days of your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.

John T. Haller's picture

The surgery went well. It only took about an hour (plus the usual hours of hospital waiting). I got home this evening and got my leg up and relaxed. The pain is much better than after surgery in December, as expected. I'll have some time of keeping it up to heal, so I won't be working full time the rest of the week. But I'll still have time handle app updates, maintenance, and some forum responses.

Thanks again everyone for your support and kind words! Smile

Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!

Congratulations on a successful surgery! Sorry that your plans to become a cyborg superhero is pushed back another year. Smile

Couldn't load 50 lb on my legs even when I was younger and healthiest.

I slipped on ice when I was a teenager resulting in a little fracture. And I used that as an excuse to evade the PE classes. (Back then I didn't know exercise is good for you.)

Acquaintances working at Google, VMWare and Oracle have all told me that their work in IT is more exhausting and less lucrative than being a doctor, especially in the US. But my friend who's a fellow at Stanford hospital complains of higher medical costs and none of that goes into her pocket, yet.

Hope you fully recover soon!

steve_dupuis's picture

Thanks John for all the dedicated hard work on the portable apps phenomenon. Best wishes for a speedy recovery.

I use the portable apps on all my Windows machines - including VMs .. awesome stuff and so easy to maintain .. Brilliant!

Regards,
Steve Dupuis

Senior Oracle DBA, Unix, Linux and NT Platform Management Services
SGC/EDP Consultants INC. Ottawa, CANADA
mailto:steven.m.dupuis@gmail.com

Glad to hear procedures went well.

I had a similar plate and 4 screws surgery after a winter broken leg. In my case healing in a cast took 6 months, and another 6 months to rebuild the muscle atrophied as a result. Yours case will move quicker, I hope.

The key point to remember: Patience is your best ally in a case like this. You may see sides of yourself that surprise you.

In the meantime, thanks for the portable apps. You do a tremendous job.

Be well.

Jo JK

John T. Haller's picture

The big news is that I took my first tentative, unassisted steps this weekend. My first crutch-free steps in nearly 5 months. I have a lot of work to do in physical therapy round 2 now that my second surgery is done, but progress is a good thing!

Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!

Take it slow John, without trying to sound demeaning "baby steps first"

“Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.” Dr. Seuss

Congratulations John,

I'm going to state the obvious here, with full apologies in advance:

John's becoming Portable again.

[pun, unfortunately, intended]

Best wishes,
dTy
Portable apps user since 0.6.1 version of, I think, it was called Phoenix at the time.

John T. Haller's picture

My followup appointment following my 2nd surgery went well and the doctor told me that things are healing as they should. I've been given permission for full weight with a cane for balance while outside. No running or jumping until my second followup in July. I also started my new set of physical therapy on Monday which will focus on balance, strengthening and range of motion. So far my insurance is denying paying for it, but I'm working on an appeal. I'll now be getting out for a walk each day and am able to manage the stairs in my 4th floor walkup with minimal assistance. It'll be painful for a while, but worth it to keep getting better. Thanks again everyone for your kind words and support!

Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!

Smile

“Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.” Dr. Seuss

Lord_Theren's picture

Have you gotten any better as of late?

The two most important days of your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.