This is a club no one really wants to belong to, but alas I must join your ranks.
I'm a 52 year old Canadian guy. My story started 6 years ago when I awoke with what I thought was a kink in my neck that would go away in a day or two. However, within 50 seconds of getting out of bed, a sudden excruciating pain went into my shoulder and down my right arm. It felt like I had literally been impaled by a spear.
Eventually it was determined that had degenerative discs at c5-6 and c6-7 which were "mild to moderate" six years ago and are now "moderate to severe". This includes osteophytes and suspected facet damage. I need to learn more about that.
I won't take the time right now to describe everything that happened over the past six years, but any Canadians out there can likely appreciate what it's like being caught up in the medical system here. Very slow.
If you are interested in that, you can read
here about the nearly 100,000 residents of BC on surgical wait lists. I have been told I can see a neurosurgeon "sometime in 2021". I don't think I can make it that long.
So, I have been reading here the past few weeks and researching elsewhere the past year or more about getting two level ADR surgery outside of Canada at my own expense. Hopefully I can learn more from everyone here and make a decision soon. But as I have read here in various threads, there is no good solution at this point and any decision brings with it a large degree or risk.
It's a difficult call to make but it helps to read about others going through similar experiences.