Well, here I am...about 5 weeks out from the surgery. I am still on medical leave from work and though the healing process is slow, it does seem to be helping. I still feel pain in some areas, though they are considerably better than before the surgery.
It is a little awkward getting used to the change of feeling from the stimulator as I move a certain way. I think at this point, my biggest concern is the few times I have tried to go an hour or two without the neck brace, my neck felt absolutely exhausted. I presume having this brace has somewhat weakened the muscles in my neck (along with the incision) and it will take some time to build them up again. My head feels heavy and when wearing this brace-I keep this feeling of wanting to "crack my neck". No, I am not going to do it, it just feels like it could use a good crack.
I go back to work about the same time I am to stop using the brace-should be a real sore first few weeks back.