Nothing comes to mind right away - what I most wanted to know, he couldn't tell me, and that was "What exactly is this going to be like?" and "How/when will life be normal again?" - y'know, what we all want to know. But since every patient's case is a little bit different, there are no hard and fast answers. But I'm the type that likes to have as much knowledge as possible (especially about something as serious as surgery!), and vague generalities really scare me. I think that's a big part of why I've tried to post as many details of my recovery here, and answer as many questions, as I can.

He had great answers to all the questions I did have - everything from why they weren't planning regional nerve blocks as part of the anesthesia to who would be updating my family in the waiting room and when. And I flat out asked him after he'd examined me, "Considering the risks (and I was far more worried about situations where people have had surgery and come out worse than when they went in than I was about anesthesia, etc.), if you were me, would you recommend surgery to yourself right now?" And he didn't hesitate to say that, in my case, he definitely would, and he firmly believed it would result in a positive change in my quality of life. I think that's as close to a guarantee as you can get out of a surgeon, and it made me comfortable proceeding.

And, so far, he's been right. I have more mobility and less pain; I'm driving and working and I'm easing into reclaiming my life. I've always told people that the worst part of TOS is not the pain (which is saying a lot, since the pain is excruciating and often unbearable), but the fact that it systematically robs you of everything you find enjoyable about life - for me that included activity from "pure fun" activities like riding to "necessity" activities like sleeping. Bit by bit everything gets taken away, and when you're crippled with pain and miserable and angry, it starts taking the people in your life away, too.

It wasn't until after surgery that I started to think I might be able to beat TOS after all. No, life isn't "normal" yet, but I can see a light at the end of the tunnel, and I can believe (for the first time in years) that it isn't the light of an oncoming train. The support of people on this forum has been incredibly helpful and heartening, too.

Good luck today, and keep us posted!