Stephanie, welcome but sorry you are here. And wow, what a tough situation you described. For starters, to address part of your question, search previous topics that may help you answer your question:
1. Go to advance search (it’s in the top navigation):
http://www.adrsupport.org/forums/search.php
2. Search by keyword, select titles only;
3. Type in discectomy;
4. Search!
I believe you will find 15 topics of immediate interest. Of course, you will find many more if you search through entire posts.
When you have some time, please visit this multi-page post:
ADR Risks, Complications, Disqualifications. This is a good primer topic too.
Happy reading!