Q: How long until you were walking on your own again? Was it hard to relearn to walk?

A: That’s a multi-faceted question. I was 100% bedridden for a full month and then exclusively in a wheelchair for a few months. I attended physical therapy three times a week starting two weeks after the procedure and consistently did my exercises at home with help from my partner. Simply getting from sitting to standing felt like an insurmountable obstacle while the bone breaks were healing, which spanned (approximately) the first eight weeks. PT during that time was largely focused on reteaching my brain to control my legs and breaking down the huge knots of scar tissue, which was one of the surprising worst parts of the procedure.

We slowly introduced strength building exercises, then movement. It was excruciating work and would certainly take longer without rigid dedication to home practice. Prior to surgery, I was an active rock climber—which is an undeniably painful sport—and my PT felt that was why I was able to mentally make it through so much rigorous physical therapy early on.

If you’re asking how long before I could painfully bear weight and take wobbly, toddler-like steps with a walker, I think that began between three and four months post-op. The real walking practice couldn’t begin until after the bones healed. I had surgery in May of 2016 and could split my time 50/50 between labored walking and the wheelchair by October. I started working again in November, which was partially remote. Driving was still very painful at this point and I wasn’t doing it much. I still needed the wheelchair for longer outings or anything that required a lot of standing in one place, like a concert. It was just under a full year post-op when I finally gave back the wheelchair and moved along with my life.

I’m currently five years out, I still attend physical therapy once a week, and I still walk with a cane, as I will for the rest of my life. I even miss my wheelchair and sometimes have to rent one for high walking activities, like going to an amusement park. I will likely need to own one again in the next 5-10 years*.

* Asterisk here about my connective tissue disorder, your results may vary.