'I do surgery to make my legs long and e scata my life'

Elaine Foo leg just full wit purple scars up and down - each of dem na reminder of di leg-lengthening surgery she do wey no go well.

Sine 2016, di 49-year-old don do five surgeries and three bone grafts. She finish her life savings and even sue her surgeon for court case wey finally settle for July witout admission of liability.

E reach one time wey di metal nail inside her leg break come out through her bone and anoda time, she tok say her legs bin feel like dem dey "roast from inside".

She say, "my waka na trial of fire but I survive."

Her doctors no gree accept say dem get blame of negligence and say some of di issues wey happun na complications wey dem bin warn am about and odas na she cause am.

Elaine don always hate her height.

She tok say, "by 12, I tall pass most girls but by 14 I come short pass everibodi. As time go on, e turn obsession. Taller mean beta, e mean more beautiful. I bin just feel say taller pipo get more chances."

By di time she turn adult, di obsession don turn anoda tin.

Elaine say she bin get bodi dysmorphia, wey be mental health condition wia pesin dey look at dem self say dem get issue for dia appearance no mata how oda pipo see dem. Wetin di condition fit cause dey very bad.

By age 25, Elaine see tori of one Chinese clinic wia pipo dey do operation to make dia leg bones longer. Di tori get very graphic details of old school type of leg cage and plenti infection. E sound like nightmare but Elaine bin dey interested.

She say, "I know say pipo go question my vanity. But wen you don face bodi dysmorphia, rational reason no dey for why you feel bad like dat."

Sixteen years later, Elaine find one private clinic wey dey do di surgery for London. Na Jean-March Guichet wey be limb lengthening specialist wey don create im own lengthening device wey im call di Guichet Nail.

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She remember say, "na real hallelujah moment bicos I fit do am for London, come recover for house."

She add say, "Dr Guichet tell me all di tins wey fit go wrong. Nerve injuries, blood clots and possibility say bones no go join togeda. But I bin don do my research and bin dey go expensive doctor so I bin expect dat level of medical care. My dream bin to grow from 5ft 2in (1.57m) to 5ft 5in (1.65m)."

For 25 July, she go in for surgery wey she pay about £50,000 to do.

Leg-lengthening surgery no dey common like dat but private clinics around di world dey run am. Depending on wia pesin dey do am, e fit cost from £15,000 to £150,000.

"Wen I first wake, I bin dey very excited, bicos e feel like nothing happun. No pain. But afta 90 minutes, e start. E feel like pesin dey cook my legs, like dem dey roast me from inside. Di first night I shout till 6:00am, I still dey shout wen I sleep off."

Wit dis kain surgery, some pain dey expected. Dis na sake of say for di operation, dem dey break di leg bones into two and dem go put metal rod inside.

Dem go come gradually extend am to increase dia length and push di two half bone apart. Dis process na to increase di patient height. Di broken bones dey expected to gradually heal back togeda to fill di gap for middle.

Di operation dey complex but na also just step one for a long process.

Prof Hamish Simpson wey be di former council member for di British Orthopaedic Association warn say, "di lengthening process dey take like two to three months and den you need at least double of dat time bifor you fit recover to reasonable function. For most pipo, e fit take one year from your life."

Once dem finish di surgery, Elaine lengthening process start. Many times daily, she go rotate her leg wey go make di nail to dey longer and her leg grow. But two weeks later, she say kasala burst.

"I bin dey feel plenti pain for my left leg. Den one night, as I dey move for bed. I bin hear wetin sound like Kit Kat crunch, afta which, di worst pain."

Elaine go do scan wey show say di nail for her left leg bin break through her femur, wey be di thigh bone, wey be di strongest bone for human being bodi.

She bin dey worry but she say Dr Guichet reassure dem, "e tell me say you no need worry. Wait make e heal, and we go start di process again."

Dem continue to dey elongate Elaine right leg as dem arrange for operation to deal wit di left one wey las-las go long reach di right one.

Elaine say dem tell am say di extra surgery go cost thousands of pounds but she bin dey happy to pay becos she wan tall at di end of di day.

By September, her right leg bin don reach di 7cm target. But tins no too smooth like dat. Di height difference wit her right and left leg, bin dey curve her spine and leave am in full pain.

Six weeks later, scans show say for her right leg, di bone don dey grow. Her femur just be two half of bone wey metal rod hold togeda.

Elaine turn to Dr Guichet for help wey book anoda operation for clinic wey im dey work for, for Milan. For April 2017, dem restart di lengthening process for Elaine left leg and inject bone marrow for di right leg so e go ginger bone growth dia. Afta di operation, Elaine wake up to bad news.

She say, "Dr Guichet tell me say di nail bin break as e dey comot am. E get to use nail from anoda patient wey e bin chook put." She bin add say dis one sef get even more money.

Three days later, Elaine go back London even though e bin hard for her to move. She say tok-tok with Dr Guichet dat time bin spoil and by dat summer, di doctor-patient relationship don scata pata-pata.

She bin no know wia she wan turn go by July 2017, she manage see specialist orthopaedic surgeon for di NHS.

She say di secialist tell her say di waka she don enta no go short.

She say, "I get to prepare myself for at least five years treatment bifor I go heal fully."

Eight years afta di first surgery, Elaine say she still dey recover from her mental and physical wounds. She get plenti wahala wit movement and she say she dey suffer from PTSD.

"From 2017 to 2020, I hide from di world. I bin dey single, unemployed, broke and disabled."

But tins don start to look up. Di four year legal battle bin dey settled for July wia Dr Guichet gree say im go pay Elain "substantial" money to settle di mata witout say e admit liability.

D surgeon doctor argue for court say Dr Guichet no commit any negligence, say, "di fracture and delayed bone healing na unfortunate non-negligent complications wey dem warn Ms Foo about bifor surgery. And say di limited right-sided bone regeneration bin dey worse bicos Ms Foo bin dey use anti-depressant wey she no reveal and she bin dey deliberately try to increase her right leg pass di agreed length."

E also claim for court say Ms Foo bin regularly dey refuse to follow Dr. Guichet advice and abandon her rehabilitation and physiotherapy.

Elaine too comot argue say di anti depressants no get link to di complication and say di doctor dey responsible for wetin happun to am.

Elain bin tink say she dey safe on top di kain money she pay but she don pay pass money for di procedure.

"I don loose di best years of my life. If pesin ask me today say you go do am if you know say you pass through all this? I go ansa capital No, thank you very much."