Just the next best thing: neurosurgery! At least, that's what the neuro-dude said today. Something I was unaware of: apparently, a piece of intervertebral disc has actually fragmented, and drifted over into between some of the vertebral spines: this is what is pressing so severely into the spinal cord. And, the diagnosis of degenerative disc disease was confirmed. I'm probably going to have two discs partially removed, and replaced with prosthetics, and that covered with a titanium plate. Bone re-growth should eventually cover that. The spouse wants me to get a second opinion, though, so I'm not sure when this can be scheduled. If I forgo the "second" (would be a third, actually), I could probably schedule the surgery for next week.

__________________
On the kinkometer, my kink measures as a sine wave.