Hi, I am in NY. Lots of snow and cold. I was talking to my surgeon, we like to chat medical stuff cause my husband is a veterinary technician and I am a medical secretary and we were talking and he said lumbar fusions are a lot different than a thoracic fusion which is what I had done. You will be doing a lot of walking. Lots and lots and lots of walking. The more you do, the happier they are as long as you do it at a reasonable pace and you don't kill yourself. My Dad had it too. You may have a permanent weight lifting restriction, like nothing over 25lbs for the rest of your life, you just have to wait and see. Pain wise, mine was really bad, they had to break my ribs to do my surgery, for awhile that hurt more than my back. They will give you enough meds that you will be ok. The worst part is the boredom when you're sore and you're stuck in bed staring at the walls. I have insomnia and I have to have it quiet to sleep, and after my surgery I didn't sleep for 48 hours, even though I was on morphine because of all the hospital noises, I had my ambien and everything, they finally had to bring my ipod in and put a wash cloth over my eyes so it was completely black and I could sleep.

Well, feel free to ask me any questions, being a medical secretary for almost 9 years I kinda know both sides of the fence in this business. I also do nails and makeup for anyone who lives local.
Talk to you soon,Crystal