Hello Amanda,
You make an excellent point on health insurance - I am fortunate to have a policy that does not force me to a single provider or clinic.

To your question, I consulted numerous orthopedic surgeons who all looked at my x-rays and MRIs and concluded that I needed a C2/C3 fusion.

When I first visited the neurosurgeon he had read the copious notes and the images before I arrived. His first act was to give me a thorough head-to-toe physical examination: reflexes, sensation, muscle strength, ... Hands, feet, neck, knees, elbows, ... It only occurred to me then that he was the first physician to actually physically touch me.

After the examination, he had me sit down with him at his computer and took me through a guided tour of the MRI's and X-rays. What he told me, in summary, is that he understood why someone would think that C2/C3 was my trouble spot based on the X-rays but the pain that I was experiencing was coming from the C3/C4 facet, not 2/3. It looked less arthritic but was actually narrower at the foramen. A C2/C3 fusion would create more stress on C3/C4 and likely result in additional fusions. So maybe not 'paralyzed' but certainly substantially immobilized.

At any rate, we did the insurance-required epidural steriod injections to prove the diagnosis and then a radio ablation which was highly successful. It is likely about time to do the ablation again but I got more than 5 years of relief.

My story is one of physicians looking at the obvious manifestation vs. identifying the root cause. My personal conclusion is that someone who is diagnosing nerve pain ought to be pretty hands-on.