I'm thinking healing thoughts for you 2eagles. Baby steps man. I had C-4, C-5, & C-6 fused together and it really improved my quality of life. My range of motion changed, though it doesn't prevent me from doing much.
The good thing about getting that fixed, is that you won't need to worry about it hurting, causing nerve tingling, and muscle weakness again. It may seem like time is crawling as you're waiting to resume normal activity, but you're closer to it every day.
Jim