I concur with the above posters, find a good spine guy, there is one here in Austin I can vouch for , he did a L4-5-S1 fusion on me. Its been 18 months now, what a life changer. I went from crippled, almost unable to walk, to back to a normal life. See if you can find one who does the minimally invasive procedure. I only have two scars of about 3 in on each side of my spine. Then get the best Physical therapist you can find. Do exactly what they say, if you don't you will only cheat your self, and maybe hurt your self more. I was given the option of a cleanup, and was told that there would be a good chance I would require more surg. later so I choose the more aggressive path. The Doctor I used here in Austin is Dr. Thomas Loftus, he is only 3 hrs from you. He might be right for you., Feel free to P M me if you want , I would be happy to help if I can.