T-Dog,
Don't listen to any of them except for perhaps G-Boost, only because he is older than me, by only a few years
First, I am an old retired U.S. Marine. I have been through it all, and most recently, three major back operations last year. They ended up removing L4 and L5, putting in cadaver bone to replace the discs, 2-9 inch rods and 6-4 inch screws from the back. A couple of months later they decided I needed more hardware and went through the stomach, replaced the cadaver bone which fell apart due to other circumstances, and then put a plate on the front of the spine to create a cage around that portion of the spine. Last operation was December of 2009. (By the way, my first blown disc operation was in 1983.)
I started riding again in February of 2010, 2.5 months later. I hit a cornice that I had done in the past year at break neck speed anticipating great air like the year before and next thing I knew I was flying through the air, without the sled. This year the cornice was ice... In slow motion I anticipated the worst when I finally came back to earth. Anyway, all ended good although I feared otherwise. Bottom line, after the three operations I listened to my body, if it felt good, go for it, if not, do otherwise. If it hurt, work through it, smartly, not like an idiot.
Like I said, I have been through a number of events. A few years back I took a jet for a ride off the end of a runway and down a 90 foot cliff. Taking 3 hours to cut me out they helo'd me to a trauma center where I was in a comma for 3 weeks. Everything except my right wrist was either pinned, screwed, or in a cast. Obviously I was not expected to survive.
I am here to tell you that out of body experiences are true. I'll never forget being outside the jet looking back inside at myself and hearing my dead fathers voice saying, "it is not your time, get back in there". Weird but true, but that is another story.
I was in a wheel chair for 3/4's of a year, on a feeding tube and breathing through a trac because my face was a mess. Took another 1/4 of a year to learn to walk again.
It all worked out, because I wanted it to and I had a hard core family that stuck with me...
Don't worry about the operation. Your young, doctors are great for the most part, and you will surely make a decision to ride again. The mind and spirit is a powerful thing and will tell you what is right and what is wrong.
If you want to talk, send me a PM. I have some good information about backs based on experience.
If not, good luck with your operations. You'll probably always have the back talking to you but no worries, you'll work through it if you want to.
Take care...
Chaos
