@jolinda Thank you, and you too... what an inspiration you are to come up with a better idea and change the way that surgeons do their jobs! I watched your video and it was touching to hear your surgeon talk about you, and you changed some thinking outside of Mayo too, advancing medicine. I was also at Mayo in 2016. I am glad you are doing well now and I can see how serious your kidney problem was. That's really why I'm here because it was so difficult for me to find help and I hope my experience will help another patient navigate the uncertainty. Thank you for your kind words. I did write to the last surgeon I saw before I came to Mayo who saw me the longest and let him know about my great recovery after spine surgery and send him the medical literature that helped me. I was kind and wrote to him in the spirit of sharing information, but there was no response, but I had some closure for my efforts as a patient.