Fixation of the 5th Metatarsal Costs $10 Grand

That's what my foot looks like now. It used to be somewhat worse, but not much worse. See the tiny little scratch down along the edge of my sole? That's where they hacked me open and screwed the bone together. I have seen some pictures of similar procedures online, it's quite nasty inside the foot. But in some cases it looks like there's no more than a tiny little incision, just big enough to get the screw and its washer through - no idea what makes different surgeons do things differently. At any rate, the 5th metatarsal of my foot is finally almost whole, according to my calculations. The x-rays are still whatever they were last time, but I am expecting to be out of the boot within a few days, which makes me very happy. I haven't had any pain at all over the last couple weeks, and I finally started into physical therapy last week. They had me doing the basic core strengthening exercises that everyone probably does regardless of the type of injury, but there are some that might actually be helpful as I start using my ankle joint again - stretches and foot strengtheners and the like. I feel confident that I could start going around in shoes right now (in fact, I do occasionally, just around the house and for doing my exercises), but I am trying to be a good patient and be patient enough to make sure that everything heals up properly.

In other news, I have made a few phone calls, and here's the verdict: the foot surgery that I underwent is going to cost about 10 grand. My insurance should cover the bulk of that, but it looks like I'll be doing some serious groveling to try to whittle my portion down to a more manageable sum after they're done with their part. So be advised - even though nobody publishes these prices anywhere, and it's nearly impossible to get hospitals to quote you a price before the procedure, any operation, no matter how "minor" or short, is going to set you back a good bit.