[annapurna]

I've been thinking about what we could offer for advice. The problem that I see is that finding ways to travel cheaply is relatively easy; finding ways to pay for medical care you can't afford outright isn't.

The only thought I had was to check into Dr. Yue in Phoenix to get a second opinion. Your profile says you're in Arizona so I'm hoping that you're realistically close to Phoenix. Yue specializes in endoscopic disectomies but he's world-class in that. He might, if approached ahead of time, be willing to have you come in to review your situation and serve as a second opinion and source of guidance. Rarely will you ever find a doctor willing to say another doctor screwed up, so I wouldn't even try to ask that kind of question, but he might weigh in on what options you have from here.

Also, there's an off chance that the lack of fusion was affected by outstanding medical issues on your part. It might be worthwhile trying to get a general physical and blood work-up to see if anything stands out. If Yue is willing to see you, you might talk with him about what to ask for so you don't get the common brush-off you'd get from the standard doc-in-a-box.