Oh how life can change in the blink of an eye

Some unexpected changes have cropped up in my life recently. I hurt my back earlier in the week. I have hurt my back many times in my life and usually recover in a few days, no biggie. This was different. I have never felt so much pain before, ever. I had to go the ER as I could not walk, sit or stand. It didnt matter if I put weight on my body or not it hurt to the point of tears. The ER was not much help but shipped me out with pain meds and strict orders to follow up with my primary. As if I wouldnt be following up? Anyway, I did follow up with my primary who stated that I need to see an ortho doctor right away. I was able to get in quite quickly(amazing what phone calls from doctors can do to get you in) and they promptly had me go for an MRI. Let me step back in my story for one moment. Back in Feb I also had unusual back problems - numbness in my leg and foot. I had an MRI then and tried to follow up with an ortho doc but due to lenghty wait times for an appt and scheduling problems by the time I could see someone, I had no symptoms. I figured, whats the point? and I did not follow up further. Additionally I was having stomach issues that seemed much more pressing at the time. Back to the current story. The doctor I met with on Tues reviewed my Prior MRI and shocked me by saying "just by looking at this you were a candidate for surgery at that time" What??? I was surprised. He stated that I have a herniated disc and he suspects it is much worse now. So today I met with him to go over the results of the new MRI and as expected my case is worse. He noted all options but there are no guarantees. In fact the option with the best possible outcome is in fact surgery. Now I just have to decide. It was has been a tough year for me medically to say the least. I will seek a second opinion and make a decision as to what I will do. Honestly it seems that the options are limited mostly to surgery as currently i can't walk or stand barely at all and sitting usually hurts after just 15-30 min. Can't live or work like that.....not at my job anyway as I sit all day.

So, I say again, how how life can change in the blink of an eye......