Tomorrow, Tuesday, was to be the big the day. Six weeks from the surgery date. No more neck brace. I can drive again. We didn’t wait until Tuesday. Sunday is the day I declared my freedom. I took off the rack.
In the rack is uncomfortable. Out of the rack is comfortable. We went for a drive (I drove). We birded for a couple hours, drove some more, then birded some more. It felt awesome. We’re still careful; I won’t do any heavy lifting or strenuous exercising until after the 3 month mark, but we’re through with the neck brace. I haven’t tested the limits of motion, I’m not going to do anything extreme, but left and right feels pretty good. Up and down is a little more difficult, but I can look up and down all I need to see birds so I’m good. The scar is kind of lumpy, but no big deal. (It’s a little hard to shave around.)
Besides, I hear chicks dig scars. It doesn’t hurt. Nothing hurts. This is great.
In the rack is uncomfortable. Out of the rack is comfortable. We went for a drive (I drove). We birded for a couple hours, drove some more, then birded some more. It felt awesome. We’re still careful; I won’t do any heavy lifting or strenuous exercising until after the 3 month mark, but we’re through with the neck brace. I haven’t tested the limits of motion, I’m not going to do anything extreme, but left and right feels pretty good. Up and down is a little more difficult, but I can look up and down all I need to see birds so I’m good. The scar is kind of lumpy, but no big deal. (It’s a little hard to shave around.) Besides, I hear chicks dig scars. It doesn’t hurt. Nothing hurts. This is great. 
