Hi Dave! This is a great board. You are most definitely not alone. I just had a 3 level ACDF (c4-c7) 22 days ago. I had 3 very large herniations ~ one crushing my spinal cord and the other 2 were pushing into the thecal sac pressing on some nerve roots. In December I went to the doctor because of tingling and numbness in my right thumb and pointer finger with some pain in between my shoulder blades. I was scheduled for an MRI. I went for the MRI and returned to work. As soon as I walked through my office door, my doctor's office was on the phone with my results and told me they had set me up with a neurosurgeon due to the seriousness. I could not have been more flabbergasted or scared. I was told to stop exercising ASAP. I'm a runner (that loves half marathons and races like that) and I also work out with kettlebells. I'm a 38 year old mother of two and in pretty decent shape. The 1st neurosurgeon suggested 6 weeks of physical therapy and traction. The neurologist who did my EMG and my doctor were both floored by that and suggested getting a second opinion. I researched my 2nd neurosurgeon and also talked to people he has operated on as well. He told me point blank that I was crushing my spine and all 3 levels needed to be done. As I said, I'm 22 days post-op and am walking anywhere from 3-5 miles per day, haven't taken any pain meds since 8 days past surgery and am trying to remain positive. I am still reconciling with the fact that I won't run half marathons anymore. I'm trying to get them to say I will be able to run a few miles 2x per week (I'm not nearly at that point yet though) but no one will commit to any answers yet. On a good note, I have read that with single level fusions, you should be able to return to all of your physical activities prior to surgery. Good luck to you!