I have followed this entire thread and it has made me curious if you can not go into this in a more measured way?
Is that just not a viable option? Is it better to take a big hit to your life and get it over with?
What if you take 5 or 6 years while you continue to make a decent living and end up with less debt and meanwhile enjoy higher quality family life? Maybe you can’t do that at a school to your liking?

If you haven’t bought a home yet maybe you could even do that when they are at the cheapest point while you go to school. Look at building your estate and living life as a whole and not just your job. I knew of a young man who did this at the bottom of the last cycle while he was killing pre-med at UCSD. Needless to say he is set.
26 is very young and most people hit their stride around 35 no matter how hard they try.