lowe175,

Thanks for the concern, feeling better than I have in years. I even asked the doctor about getting back in my kayak and he said that returning to an "active" lifestyle was the best thing. Just if it hurts to stop instead of trying to push through. I'm staying cautious and only fishing close to my truck for a few weeks instead of paddling miles, but I forgot what life is like pain free. I was so use to always hurting, at least to varying degrees. If you've got chronic neck or back pain and the last time you checked the only option was fusion or a life of pain meds, you might want to revisit a doctor. Artificial disk replacement is fairly new in the US, but has been done in Europe for 20 plus years. My doctor at SportMed in Huntsville has done thousands and said he's had two "negative" incidents. The odds of driving across Huntsville on any give trip is probable worst than that, LOL. I've always steered away from any kind of spine surgery since so many people still have pain or issues even after surgery. I probably wouldn't have even considered this except the pain became so bad I couldn't work, sleep or anything. Now I wished I hadn't waited so long.