TODAY WAS A GOOD DAY
John Lovedale is feeling pretty good, despite the fact that he should not be walking right now. It’s a little after 9 a.m. ona hot Saturday morning in Las Vegas and he’s ambling through the Aria Resort Casino with a pronounced limp, wincing as he throws his hips into wide semicircles and dragging his feet exactly where they need to be. The effect is like a Grand Theft Auto extra who’s just been sniped in the butt.
John is in his mid-40s and stands five feet eleven and a half. Bighearted laugh. Built like a saguaro cactus. If you squint he kind of resembles a brolic Neil deGrasse Tyson. He’s in town to see his orthopedic surgeon, having arrived last night from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, where he works as a network engineer for the government. He almost missed his flight and was in such a rush he forgot to bring the crutches he’s supposed to be using, but, again, he’s been feeling pretty good.
That John is on his feet at all is impressive—and probably foolish— considering that only eight months prior, he was five feet eight and a half. Back in September, he paid 75,000 for the agonizing privilege of having his legs surgically lengthened. That entailed having both his femurs broken, and adjustable metal nails inserted down their centers. Each nail is made of titanium, which is both flexible and sturdy, like bone, and about the size of a piccolo. The nails were extended one millimeter every day for about 90 days via a magnetic remote control. Once the broken bones heal, ta-da: a newer, taller John.
This story is from the October 2022 edition of GQ US.
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This story is from the October 2022 edition of GQ US.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
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