[Terra]

Thanks for your encouraging post. You appear a young vibrant individual and you are right it seems like you have to constantly pick and chose battles. Its so annoying when the battles are so esoteric and I'm fairly certain you understand what I mean.

What a shame about the DDD progressing in your adjacent vertebra--the preverbial domino affect aftr spinal surgery. But it sounds like you'll have to start with your shoulder. From what I've noticed these issues can become more acute or maybe just more noticeable from the outside looking in. I read your initial post op story and am impressed you have done so well and also you have so many children!

I'd had one doctor propose a hybride type situation where I'd get a fusion and one level ADR so he could stabalize the spondylolisthesis w/the fusion. Wish I could call it something else, but if you say "spondy" it might be misinterpreted as spondylolysis! Then if you say "slipped" people think you are referring to a "slipped disc" rather then a slipped vertebra. No matter what, you don't hear from too many people struggling with spondylolisthesis in the c-spine. I suppose that's good, but it might be nice to see how others have been managed. Likely some people have this and don't know what they are being treated for or not being treated for. While I wait on this institution and their contract with my insurance company, my primary care doctor will likely send me out to other surgeons to see what they say.