I have surgery of my own coming up (2 level fusion L4-S1) for injuries sustained in a car accident. One of the deciding factors for the Docs was 1) my age and state of current health ( I am a 39 yo Police Officer), and 2) I dont smoke. The Docs said that they would not opperate on me if I was overweight or smoked; apparently smoking causes restrictions in blood flow and puts a big damper on healing. Although my pain is bearable from most days to most days; the impact on my life is not. I have 2 toddlers who want more and more attention, I cannot enjoy the outdoor activities I once did (I am a Ski Instructor, and have not been on the slopes in 3 years). After much conversation with my family and Docs, it was decided that narcotics and Gin was a bad way to deal with pain, and why sacrifice the next 10 years of my life to wait for surgery. Convince your husband that we never know what tomorrow will bring, and does he really want to go on knowing that things could have been better. And remember, the internet is a great place for advise, but you are going to get the extremes. Rather than use the internet 'nightmare stories' as fodder for not having surgery, talk to family, friends, and coworkers who have actually had surgery. To a person, all of the people I know that have had surgery said the same thing, "I cant believe I waited so long, I wish I had the last 10 years back." Keep you rhead up, and best of luck,
Mike