I had spinal fusion S1 thru L5 September 2024. I still have back pain, not as severe as before, but I'm now dealing with numbness on left side of left leg and a patch on the ankle, toes and too of bottom of right foot. I was told it takes time for the nerves that were compressed to "wake up". I'm still waiting and praying that is sound advice. All I can say is that I would never go thru spinal fusion if I had known this could happen. All the research I read said there would be some numbness but it would go away. I'm sorry you are going thru this. It is horrible and like you, I was always athletic and now can't walk without a walker or a cane.