Here’s the deal with my back. Sooner or later I will have to undergo surgery … there’s no getting around this fact. With this said, I have two options to consider.

Option One: Undergo approximately a five hour surgery to have my spine fused. Spend less than a week in the hospital after which I would go to rehab. Total down time … Six months. Choosing this option would give me immediate relief.

Option Two: Follow normal procedures; physical therapy, injections, acupuncture, along with medications, etc., to see if these will help relieve the pain. If all these procedures fail to provide relief then undergo surgery.

In discussing the options, J’me suggested to undergo option two for a period of six months after which we would evaluate my situation and go from there.

As for myself, I like option one since it would give me immediate results … I’m to the point where I’ll do anything to relieve the pain. However, should I go for surgery now I would be incapacitated throughout the upcoming summer, which I really would rather avoid. On the other hand, should I put off the surgery, say till next January 2015, then I could take the whole winter to recover. As for care following the surgery, either way I should decide, this will not be an issue … my support system is well taken care of.

I don’t know … with my age and health issues I have going on, I’m really undecided which route would be most advantageous for me.