[Michelle]

Rutman,
Congrats on an apparently successful surgery! As far as golf swings-the only one I know is the one where you swing as hard as you can, completely miss the ball, and spin yourself around in a circle. Don't think I'd be a lot of help there! After my discectomy, I had a lot of tingling in my leg too, and it faded after about a year, getting progressively better. I took it as a good sign, even when the tingling sometimes stung. All I can say is be careful the rest of your life! You don't want to end up like me, redoing the same surgery a couple years later. Always protect your back. (I pushed a broken down car out of an intersection, and wham! Back where I started.) So be careful. The 'punch in the back' was exactly how I described my incision pain. My scar is about 3 inches as well, and would be narrower had the surgeon not used dissolving stitches so that I wouldn't have to drive back (3 hours) for him to remove my staples. That pain was slow to get better for me, so hang in there. It will eventually. So, the basic premise of this novel is to be careful! I'm so glad you're feeling better, but don't let that excitement overcome your common sense about what you can and can't do. Take it slow, and hopefully say goodbye to spine surgery!