[drewrad]

Sounds like you have multilevel degeneration, which most people have to a degree in their middle years whether they realize it or not. Sometimes the issues resolve themselves after going through a settling process, which can take a long time. Other times, that isn't the case.

I had moments where I felt no pain. Then other times when the burning pain would not stop. Ultimately, it got to where I just refused to sit down at all which meant getting a driver. I was Little Miss Daisy at 45 years old. I quit using the dinner table and just ate standing up. I never went out to the movies or anywhere people sat down. But I could lay down, without pain, which I was grateful for.

My bottom two discs were barely there anymore, this non-motion was now causing my higher ups to give way. That's a chain reaction. In fact, a couple months before surgery, I could even feel some thoracics starting to complain. That's how ugly it was getting.

I finally settled upon a course of action after turning over every available rock. Even then, there were no perfect solutions. You will just have to finally accept that and that's when faith comes in.

The process, or the journey, is long, even postop. There will be many levels where you will be challenged. When you finally realize that your American HMO will not deal with you in a manner that is satisfactory, betrayal. When you research and do consults with various other surgeons, and they conflict with each other. When you ask God to heal you and realize He is, but not how you expect Him to or want Him to. When you finally wire money over, gulp, locked and loaded, date set, all systems go.

And when you're there, if you decide the overseas option, and no one speaks your language and you feel insignificant and lost, always remember, especially then, how,God is still present, and a very real help in times of trouble.

Faith will be required of you, along with your own logical use of data and ability to take chances and risk, and ultimately the knowledge that we only live once and time is short. And how much life are we willing to sacrifice in order to not take a shot at getting better? Because deciding not to do anything is also making a decision by default.

In the end, life must be lived, at all cost. And, it will cost. It always does.