hello...i didnt have the exact same proceedure as you but i did have C6,C7,T1, T2 all fused together. it was a posterior fusion and the discs stayed in. 2 slices of bone were taken from my hip and screwed into the vertebrae to accomplish a permanent fusion. my surgery took 11 hours and yours should be more like 2 hours.
i have not needed any more surgery since that one ten years ago.
i had pain, tingling and numbness before surgery. it took about 4 months for me to feel decent again but its been improving considerably each year. i can do anything i want physically with my neck with this fusion.
when i drive my car i have good rotation of my neck to either side.
i do attribute a lot of my success to doing physical therapy and not being afraid to use the neck as much as i want to.
try to look at this as a solution to you troubles.
did the dr give you a percentage rate for a very successful surgery?....pete