Originally Posted by bellydanceheather

Hi Mike;

I made the ultimate mistake looking for spinal fusion info online after being diagnosed with spondy of L5 with a fracture to boot. Talk about horror stories! OMG I was in tears thinking my life was OVER. I am 43 and extremely active (former fitness competitor and bellydance teacher) but the pain has made those things very difficult. Tomorrow I have my 1st consult w/ a surgeon (I'll be consulting 2 additional, also). I cannot thank you enough, and the others who have contributed their stories, for taking the time to write it all down for the world to see all is not lost. I have had other surgeries (unrelated to this) so I understand the importance of recovery, but the fusion seems like it takes soooooo looooooooooong!! Could you please tell me, exactly how long were you down for after surgery? I mean laid out flat completely helpless and dependent on others for assistance? And once you got home (it was a week later, correct?) how was the pain on a scale of 1 to 10?

You can probably guess I'm trying to gauge how long I'll be down for. I know I won't have any performances in my near future, and that's all right, but if I have to be in bed for weeks and weeks I'll go absolutely BONKERS!! I"d like to at least be able to go to work and sit at my desk and do paperwork!

Do you think that's too much to ask?