Long story short is I had a prolapsed disc that had collapsed towards the spine and was inoperable. Only a 15% success rate told me it was not worth touching and I needed to live with it. Overnight my dreams of having a refereeing career had vanished and I was now on my own.

Shit man, sorry to hear that, but as my Mother always says: "Everything happens for a reason" and who knows what road that could have led you down. Always got to keep that glass half full I say, and $150K -$200K will hopefully pale into insignificance some day if some crypto plays come to pass.