Diane
I had a cervical fusion in 1997, C-5 and C-6. The moment I woke up in the hospital, all the symptoms (pain and the electrical waves that went down my left arm) were gone when I awakened. It was wonderful. However, the recovery is no piece of cake. I had to wear a cervical collar (came up to my chin) about 4 weeks then used a soft padded neck collar.The first collar is hard and mine caused irritation. Mine rubbed my chin and I inserted a piece of old handkerchief to buffer the area. Hope everything goes well for you.