well shoot, wish I would've seen this thread earlier. My dad just went through two years of increasing pain, with all sorts of friends and family urging him to do the surgery, that they had the fusion and wished they had done it years earlier. So now a year later he's saying the same thing!

The only real piece of advice I can contribute is: when the docs tell you not to bend, lift or twist, they REALLY mean don't bend, lift or twist. For the entire recovery period. my dad never damaged anything, but just kept trying to make himself useful and get back to work, but that was enough to keep him in a good amount of pain.

I can imagine your wife gets to deal with a lotttttt of idiots. cant even imagine.
However, I cant ever overstate the importance of having a family member with you during any surgery as an advocate on your behalf. Been through quite a few hospital stays with friends and family over the past several years, and I've watched PAs, nurses, and attendants screw up medications, forget scheduled med times, and generally showcase a lack of professional attention and courtesy. While I do understand health care workers have to deal with grueling shifts, awful hours and HMO schedules, its pretty scary how easily mistakes can be made with possibly deadly ramifications.

When I'm at the hospital I definitely use the googles to research medications, dosages, procedures, doctors, etc. If something doesn't add up or just have a question I ask the attending to explain things a little more. Always beneficial to be engaged in the process instead of sticking your arm out for a needle without knowing exactly what's going on.