The surgeon I saw is part of a group I trust and respect. Orthopedic surgeons who have taken care of athletes and dancers who are well known. (Their signed pictures and posters are all around the waiting room.) One replaced my arthritic hip. When the surgeon told me the strength in my legs and feet would continue to decline if I did not have the surgery to open up my spine and that I would end up in a wheelchair, that was all I needed to hear to decide to go ahead with the surgery. I live in a third floor apartment in the city, I don't have a car, I take public transportation. A wheelchair?
I'm still recovering from the last surgery 3-4 weeks ago, I still have pain and I can't yet walk the way I could before. But I can walk, I need a cane to climb the stairs to my apartment. But I can do it.