Surgery Rescheduled

Update: My super-hip and knee surgery with Dr. Paley had to be rescheduled because I came down with bronchitis. My NEW surgery date is going to be Feb-18th. I was in Florida last week because a media crew was interested in hearing my story. I did some filming while I was there...big step for me considering my condition is something I really just now started talking about openly. I don't know when or where the video will end up but it's out there. For those of you that don't know, I was born with PFFD and at 23 yrs old have a length difference of 10 inches. I lived my entire life without surgery of any kind. Now that I know about MY options I want to let others like me know that they HAVE options. I've gone a very long time living with PFFD. I know how to live with it and pretty soon I will be going through the journey to correct it, then I will have to learn to adapt to NOT living with it. It's been a very large part of my life for so long. Until joining this site I never realized how many people are actually affected by it. I live in an area where I have never met anyone with my condition. I want to try to answer questions anyone has concerning my condition...I know it can be scary making such a big decision for a child and I hope hearing my story helps ease some of that worry. Most doctor's WILL suggest amputation. 99% of doctors, actually. The question I would ask is...If there is a treatment out there, WHY go with amputation? If this can be corrected (which it can in most cases) why choose to amputate? RESEARCH. Don't stop researching until you find an alternative that you are comfortable with. I personally was never comfortable with the thought of amputation and I was always told that was my only and best option. I was told that lengthening wasn't possible in my case, that my condition was far beyond that. It's not. Apparently...my heart was right and my doctors were wrong. It CAN be corrected and it WILL. There is going to be a LOT of rehab which will be I think, the hardest part. It's vital to proper recovery. When you've lived with this condition as long as I have (even though it's my every day routine) you will still do anything-whatever it takes to correct it, if it can be done. I'm very fortunate to have found an alternative. It's been a long time coming...a time that I thought would never happen but it's here. I wake up every day in anticipation for my first surgery. I have one month to go. I'll update and answer questions as much as I can. Please don't hesitate to ask!

God Bless-
Julie