Hey my friend, so sorry to hear about your circumstances.  I went through something similar a few years back.  Was diagnosed with overuse-related injuries in my lower abs and groin.  My options were (1) run through the pain and hope it doesn't get worse; (2) stop running and find something else to do; or (3) surgery.  I was in my late 30s - past my prime in terms of being competitive, but not ready to hang it up yet.  Decided to go with the surgery option.   I tried a surgeon who was covered by insurance, and the problem got worse instead of better.  The specialist required $15k out of pocket payment up front, and was on the opposite side of the country.  Ran intermittently with pain and took a lot of time off feeling overwhelmed, got really depressed without running, got really depressed about being the age I was and facing a lifetime of limited mobility/activity, etc.  Decided to go for the specialist.  I wound up taking out a second mortgage to cover the bill - totally worth it.  And I wound up being reimbursed about $10k by insurance a year later, which was a nice surprise.  But the money, the time off work, the logistics - none of that was as important as making the decision to go for it.   So make a decision.  $3k is a decent amount of money, but not impossible to come up with.  Can you open a credit card, take out a loan, save aggressively, borrow from family, sell some stuff, pick up some extra work?  Does the doctor offer any kind of financing option?  It's worth asking.  It might take a bit of time, but you can do that part of it if you set your mind to it. Once you've come up with a plan to get the money, it sounds like the next hurdle will be taking time off of work.  I'm guessing you do something physical since you'll need a full two weeks off after surgery.  If you don't do something physical, I'm willing to bet you can cut that by a week.  Have you had a conversation with your boss yet about the possibility of taking time off?  Have you talked to your coworkers about covering some of your workload?  Hell, have you looked for other work with a better leave policy and better insurance?   You have to deal with something unpleasant through no fault of your own.  But you're not a helpless victim in all this, no matter how it may feel right now.  You can do this.  You can make it happen if you want it.  Just make a decision.  And you know what?  That decision might be to not go forward with the surgery.  But let that be your call, not somebody else's.  You're free to decide that it's just not the best option for you.  Take some time to feel scared, depressed, and overwhelmed - this stuff is scary, depressing, and overwhelming, and you need to process all of that . When you're through all that, figure out which way you want to go and set your mind to making it happen.  You've got a community full of random internet strangers here to help and encourage you at every step of the way, and there are probably some very nice actual people in your life who will be equally supportive.  Good luck to you.