TitaniumJohnny: The Crash and Journey Back to Running – PT 7

Published by Johnny Shelby LMT at December 5, 2025

🚀Cleared To Go Hot : Finishing a Year of Surgeries and Starting Fresh.

Hello everyone! If you’ve been following along with my journey as TitaniumJohnny, it’s been quite the adventure since my last post in September 2024. Let’s just say that the last year has been less about setting Personal Records and more about collecting surgical scars! I’ve been in and out of the operating room multiple times, each procedure followed by mandatory time off to allow for proper healing.

But I have some amazing news: all of the necessary surgeries are now behind me! The body top to bottom is officially green-lit, and I’m ready to get back to full-throttle training (no restrictions), living up to the TitaniumJohnny name.

Here is the rundown of what I’ve been up to since my last installment:

The Surgical Marathon: A Year of Healing and Improvements

👁️ Late September 2024: The Vision Quest

My first procedure was a unique one: surgery to correct significant double vision. This was quite the experience because I was awake during the operation! The surgeon needed real-time feedback. While they adjusted the muscles controlling my eyeball and stitched them into place, I had to confirm when the double vision was gone while looking at an ‘X’ on the ceiling. I had pain medication, but I did have to call for “mercy” at one point when the tugging became too much! We laughed about it afterwards. Luckily, my surgeon was super skilled, supportive, and it was over quickly. The result was perfect, eliminating the need for the PRISM glasses I had been wearing. No more seeing double on my peripheral or when looking up! Which was dizzying to say the least.

👀 Late November / Early December 2024: A Double Stack

I stacked two surgeries back-to-back at the end of the year:

Left Eye Peripheral Vision: The first was to improve my side vision in my left eye, which previously felt like having a horse blinder on. This surgery was a success, significantly improving my awareness and field of view. By the way this required a different eye specialist.
Hand Hardware Removal: The second procedure was on my hand to remove a titanium plate and screws. The screws were protruding into my wrist joint and severely blocking movement. Fortunately, TitaniumJohnny emerged stronger after both surgeries healed nicely.

🖐️ August 2025: Hand Mobility is Back

I went back in August for a hand surgery on my pinky finger to restore joint movement. A significant amount of scar tissue had built up, and after a bit of surgical cleanup, the range of motion dramatically improved. This was an awesome outcome, especially since I rely so much on my hands for my work.

🔩August & September 2025: The Hardware Eviction

Here’s the big one! In August, a vigilant client of mine—who happens to be an orthopedic surgeon—noticed a slight break in the skin near the hardware in my leg. He immediately flagged it as a potential infection around the screws in my tibia and urged me to get it checked as it might affect TitaniumJohnny. Serendipitously, I had a pre-op appointment for my hand at the Michael E. DeBakey VA Hospital in Houston that Monday. They checked the leg, and shortly after my planned hand surgery, I had a major operation in September to remove all the hardware.

This procedure meant no running for four weeks. The follow-up cleared me for light jogging after that, but all running, racing, and interval work were off-limits.

The Road Ahead: Focusing on Fitness

Finally, on December 3rd, 2025, I was fully cleared to go “hot” with no restrictions! YAY!!!

You might recall that I had to visit a non-union bone specialist earlier in this journey, as there was concern my tibia fracture wasn’t healing. After reviewing my CT scan and bloodwork, the specialist from Baylor Orthopedics simply told me it was healing, just slowly, and that I needed to eat more to maintain my TitaniumJohnny vigor.

I took that advice to heart—perhaps a little too much! Healing ramped up, and so did the needle on the scale. Weighing in at 210 lbs, I’m 40 lbs heavier than I was when this whole ordeal started.

Now that the mechanical and structural issues are resolved, my focus shifts entirely to leaning out, improving my aerobic base, and regaining my former physique. The leg feels great, and I’m slowly increasing my mileage and performance every day.