and I am now (confirmed by a call to the doctor's office this morning) allowed to lift items up to 10 pounds, twice what I could before, and even better I CAN DRIVE. Which I did, cautiously, stopping by the post office to pick up my POBox mail saved from the past 2 weeks, and the local grocery store for some things that had run out. Coming out of the store I was lightly rained on, which was kind of nifty.

For the next month my body will still be going through the process of readjusting to changes in the lumbar vertebrae and I still have to handle myself with some care, but otherwise things go on pretty much as before. I am starting to notice some rather slight changes, with regards to apparent returning sensation in my feet, but this came on over several years and I don't have any great expectations for the short term. Ask me this time next year.