@dabbs Yes David, thanks for your update. I know you understand that C1 & C2 do most of the work for head turning with a bit of help from C3 & C4. Instability at C1 & C2 can be very serious indeed and you probably have some tough choices ahead of you. No doubt you have helped a lot of injured patients with similar issues over the years working as a paramedic. Bless you for that, and being there to help with your expertise. Since you are in Florida, you could consider Mayo Jacksonville for an opinion. I had my spine surgery at Mayo Rochester which is excellent. It was a 5 hour drive for me, but so worth it. Many patients fly there for surgery and they have a lot of spine surgeons with sub specialties. You need an expert for the C1/C2 levels as many spine surgeons don't want to operate there or above C3.

I have had only one ride in an ambulance after seriously breaking my ankle on a horse back riding trip. It was pretty rural and the paramedic didn't have any uniform on. He was pretty casual, but they got me to a hospital with an orthopedic surgeon who put an external cage on my ankle, and then I came to Mayo for fixation surgery. It is nice to have someone looking after you in that situation when you need help and can't help yourself. Being far from home, I also didn't know where the best local hospital was for what I needed at the time or how to get there.