Spinal fusion experiences - Was it worth it for you?

I’m 27 years old and was finally diagnosed with Scheurmann’s Disease last summer after 15+ years of being told I just had bad posture. I have been doing physical therapy off and on ever since with little reduction in my daily pain. My back and neck hurt pretty much 100% of the time and have gradually become more painful as I’ve gotten older; this constant pain is my biggest struggle, and it occasionally reaches levels that are very difficult to tolerate.

I had an appointment this week with the neurosurgeon to evaluate my progress, and he essentially said that at this point I can either continue with physical therapy or have surgery to correct it. He warned me that my surgery would be very extensive if I decided to go that route. I’m going to stick with physical therapy for now to continue strengthening my back, but I’m definitely considering surgery in the future.

My fusion would be from T2-L3. I also have mild S-shaped Thoracolumbar Scoliosis, mild degenerative disc disease throughout my thoracic and cervical spine, and lower lumbar facet arthrosis. I have Hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome as well which can cause poor wound healing. I’m really concerned about that with such a large operation - Just as an example of this, I had a mole removed on my back in November, and the initially small scar gradually stretched into a massive pit that still occasionally hurts and is significantly larger than the mole itself was. I’m really afraid of having the same thing happen after a spinal fusion.

Is there anyone here that has had a surgery similar to mine (T2-L3) that can tell me about their experience? I’d also be really interested in hearing any experiences from people that have EDS (or any other connective tissue disorders) and have had a spinal fusion. Overall, I’m just really pretty terrified even thinking about this surgery, and I need help deciding if it’s worth it. Thanks!