There is no such reality as normal recovery. You are still very early in your recovery. It takes a long time to heal. Your body has been through major surgery and probably a long time of injury and pain prior.

I am hopeful that in one year post surgery I will have much more strength, great ROM and be able to complete takes without taking breaks due to pain, knots and spasms. I also want to be able to drive my son college in August (8 hours) and enjoy the achievement. Everyone is different.

At 6 weeks I was still very weak, no strength and very little ROM. At 10 weeks I think I saw a major difference with ROM and some strength. I only wore a soft collar after I think 4 weeks except all the time when I slept or in a car and at times when I was sore and achy. PT certainly helped. I try and complete a few exercises many times during the day. Just take your time and be careful with your neck. You only have one. I keep reminding my self of that.

I kept a journal of questions and symptoms that concerned me throughout my pre and post op time. I continue to. It is important to know what symptoms you have, when they happen (what were you doing prior to pain), how long they last and what helped alleviate them. I never thought that they recovery would take this long. I want to sleep well though the night, wake up without aches and pains and not limited ROM until I exercise. I thought I would be able to clean my house and do all the laundry without issues....not yet.

Time will tell. Again it is treatable.
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12/9/2010 ACDF C5-6 C6-7 with plate, screws,
BMP & bone fragment filled cages
2/14/2011 trying to go back to work as a teacher
2/17/2011 starting PT
wearing bone stimulator 4 hours a day
DDD, arthritis, herniated disks, pinched nerves
3 months saw a little bit of bone growth (YEAH)
4/9/2011 ROM much better, still achy and stiff in the am