I've had the opportunity to do some more reading tonight about anterior versus posterior approaches and I feel more at ease than I was earlier. I was under the impression that the anterior approach led to significantly shorter recovery times and that doesn't seem to be the case, or at least not as significant as I had thought. I guess one interesting aspect of my surgical travails will be a first person perspective on both the anterior and posterior methods.

And, yikes, as one of my pre-surgery tests/exams today, I was on the receiving end of a MRSA nasal swab test. At least it was over quickly, but I hope I never need one of those again.

9 days to go.

Thank you to all for your input so far. Any more insights/experience would be greatly appreciated.
Art in Alaska