Hello BTB,
Sorry, I am lazy so I shortened your name.lol. I am quite certain you will do fine after surgery, as you aapear to be very level headed and have your head on straight about the surgery. This is very important for your recovery. A poor outlook about any kind of surgery can hinder the healing process in many ways.
You have been given some good advice for sure, by all means get you a grabber because bending is something you are not going to be allowed to do for some time. Be sure to have a stool softener handy incase you tend to plug up on narcotics and a get a bottle of MOM as well. Be sure to have pain medication before your surgery so when you come home there is no scrambling trying to get medication filled. Have plenty of easy to fix snack foods, maybe a six pack of Boost or something like that to help give you some good nutrition and vitamins.
A friend of mine is an orthopedic surgeon, when a person had a fusion w/bone graft, he and the neurosurgeon worked as a team together on the surgery. He advised all of his patients that the 1st six weeks post-op were the most critial. He did not allow his patients to lift, bend, stoop. They were not allowed to sit except to go to the restroom. This was done to keep pressure off of the fusion. Standing and layng was all he allowed the 1st 6 weeeks. No riding in a car, again to keep pressure off the fusion and not have to worry about being in a car accident right after surgery. Only time they could ride was to a dr appt.
If you are using a bone bank expect to have some pain at the graft site. In fact most people complain of this more than the surgery pain.
Walk, walk, walk and walk some more. This will give you more strength than you can imagine. Start out slow and steadily build yourself up. Always have someone walk with you if possible and carry a cell phone.
Try to get someone come stay with you at least your first week at home. It would be even better if you could get someone there for 2 weeks.
Please keep us posted. Susie