Now that I'm scheduled, I find myself defending my decision

[JoAnn5]

My in-laws more or less dismissed my upcoming surgery as "elective" and never understood the extent of either my pain or the surgeries done in 3 stages. They never came to the hospital while i was there for 11 days... nor did they visit me at home afterwards. I'm not sure they are convinced to this day that all of it was necessary. However, i realized that it didn't matter what their opinion was. I knew my body was deteriorating and that something had to be done before it got worse.

[junosand]

negative reaction from acquaintances

the reaction you are getting is not limited to scoliosis surgery, in fact it happens to people getting almost ANY kind of surgery - yes, everyone is an expert and they often say the worst possible things, ones even patently ridiculous (e.g. i heard a friend's cousin's aunt had .......... (fill in surgery) and both legs turned black and fell off...)

you have to ignore it; only you and your doctor know the individual details of your case

depending on who i'm talking to i am more or less patient but in general i'm trying to keep it as quiet as possible

perhaps a good forum topic: what's the ideal thing to say to such people to shut them up without being rude? (it should be applicable to any kind of surgery or treatment, not just scoliosis surg)