To have surgery or not?

I ruptured my Achilles Tendon exactly eight days ago. I was on the dance floor at my 25th School Reunion, the night was basically over. I was dressed up to the nines - black velvet dress, my high heels left at my table ( I couldn't walk in them anyway, I always wear big boots and flats) and myself, my best mate (who was over from the UK) and her sister were giving it loads dancing to Tina Turner and then Erasure. I am a bit of a   mad dancer, I have to say, legs and arms everywhere, lots of crazy finger movements and skipping about like a pixie. Tonight though I was quite sedate by my standards, I knew I had a taxi coming in a few minutes and I was ready to go home, back to my Dad's house. I leaned back on my right foot and suddenly felt an enormous pain at the back of my ankle, as if someone had kicked me. A sharp knifelike pain. I looked around to see if any of the remaining women on the floor had got me with a high heel, no doubt jealous of my dance floor skills. There was no one near me! Then of course I went to stand on my right foot and my leg collapsed. I hobbled up to a nearby chair and gestured to my friends. 

I was given a temporary cast in the local A& E and told to come back in two days( this being a bank holiday weekend in Ireland). On the Tuesday I was x-rayed and ultra sounded, re- cast and sent to a further Orthopaedic hospital in Tullamore, County Offaly and kept overnight for a MRI and surgery.  A day and a half later I was let go with a fibreglass cast, no operation. The reason I didn't have an operation, my surgeon told me was that my rupture was too high up and that there was too much muscle in the way. I was just happy to get out of the hospital in time to see my kids come back from trick or treating on Hallowe'en. 

However, having spent four days on my couch, leg up, in between hobbling around on crutches trying to help everyone and generally getting in the way, I have been doing a lot of research on Achilles Tendon Repair  and both pre an non-surgical repair. I would love to hear some feedback from fellow sufferers, especially in Ireland. I get the impression that I wasn't offered the surgery because a) I'm 42 years of age and 2) because I'm not an athlete who might need to run again competitively. Am I wrong? Every article I read it says that surgery is the best option for recovery and not having a re-rupture. Why then did I not have it? I'm going a bit mad about the thought of another cast in two weeks which I will have for 2months and then a boot for a further month or so. I have five kids. I want my life back! AAAgh. Help?