I have no words of wisdom or help for you...but this board has been nothing but encouraging for me (check out the Aaargh broken back thread). There are a few responses of people who have returned to activity from awful injuries and it helped me a lot. I'm one month into a 6-month hiatus from exercise due to a broken back, and while they have implied that biking and running will be "frowned upon" I don't think I can quit that easily. At least not without something equally fun to replace it! So I'll definitely be supporting you and hoping to learn from you as you sort this all out. And while I support the position of surgery as a last-ditch effort...it's not the end of everything.

Please keep us updated!