Anybody had spine surgery?

I had a TLIF L4L5 fusion six weeks ago . This was minimally invasive surgery to address spondylolisthesis and stenosis. For most of my recovery, I had little to no pain. Never took more than a Tylenol. I adhered to the no bending, lifting, and twisting restrictions. Wore my brace all the time and followed my surgeon’s instructions to walk as much as I could. I now walk between 2 and a half to three hours every day. Saw my surgeon yesterday and he is now restricting me to no lifting over 20 lbs and is recommending I resume my physical therapy. He lifted all of the other restrictions. As a 75 year old woman who has been physically active all my life, I was terrified of having to undergo this surgery as I read all the horror stories online. In the end, my recovery was very easy but I attribute that to three things. I was fortunate to have a very skilled surgeon who specialized in minimally invasive surgery to correct my spinal conditions. I did five months of physical therapy to develop my back muscles and core area prior to surgery. I am not overweight which according to my surgeon, made the surgical process easier. Needless to say, I am extremely pleased that I made the decision to have the surgery as all of my pre-operation pain is gone. My goal now is to resume therapy and stick with an exercise program to further develop those back muscles to prevent problems in the future. I hope this reassures those of you who are considering a back fusion. It isn’t the awful procedure you often read about.