The first cut is the deepest

It's official.
I need surgery.
I went to see the neurosurgeon today and even though it isn't critical he wants me to have surgery by the end of year.
We looked at the MRI today.
Not only is the disk bulging and pressing against nerve endings, it is also hindering the flow of spinal fluid, which I guess is what the doctor is most concerned with.
It would only be surgery for the worst of the two disks because surgical techniques are improving all the time and they only want to operate when it is absolutely necessary.

The hardest part will be scheduling.
I would like to have it done either in the late summer or early fall, and there would be no problem scheduling it that way with the doctor.
The hardest part is on this end.
MB will need someone to stay with her a few days, and I will also need someone to drive me to and from the hospital which is about 80 miles from here.
I discussed it with MB earlier today, and her preference would be for my sister and brother-in-law to drive up from Florida, and since my brother-in-law is retired, and my sister pretty much makes her own schedule, I think given this window of opportunity of late summer to early fall we can work something out.
Our second choice would be for my niece, my nephew, and my other brother-in-law, who all live about 150 south of here, to all pitch in and help, but ...
I don't know, I just don't feel that I can depend on them, I mean, they mean well, and I'm sure they would want to help, but with them things always seem to come up at the last minute, it's hard to explain, but yeah, they're only the second option.
The last option I never would have expected. Another nephew, my Florida sister's oldest son, called out of the blue today, and I told him about the surgery, actually, besides MB he is the only family member who knows about it so far, and he told me that if there was any thing he could do to help just to let him know, he even said if push came to shove he would fly up and help. I would only do that as a last resort, but it is good to know that he is there if we need him.
So anyway, I'll call my sister tomorrow night and spell it out for her, and then blah blah blah, we'll go from there.