Ear pinning surgery: What are your experiences?

I’ve already gone through all the tests and sat through my checkup, and the doctor ended up charging me $500 just because he’s an old friend of my parent—otherwise, he would’ve slapped me with an $800 or $850 bill. Honestly, what’s a realistic price for this kind of thing these days, and would it even be smart to try and go through a hospital using insurance to get it covered for free?

A buddy of mine actually went to the hospital for free back when we were still in high school.

Man, listening to him tell the story was pure comedy. The "sterile" conditions were a joke—they were basically operating on him right next to an open window. And the stitching? Absolute disaster. The wound kept popping open two or three different times. He told me once, after he’d already been discharged, the gap near his ear opened up so wide you could practically shove a pencil in there.

Back in high school, we thought the whole thing was hilarious because he wasn't even in pain, but honestly? Looking back now, that sounds pretty terrifying. 😢

Anyway, he made a vow: from here on out, he's strictly seeing private doctors.

I mean, I know it’s not always the case, but sometimes a doctor might take it personally if you switch up, yet here we are. It really happened.

Hey, honestly, I’m not even sweating the cash anymore, because at the end of the day, I guess I'm actually investing in my own future, and look, I know I've been such a shut-in lately, just feeling too embarrassed to even show my face in public, but we'll see how things shake out down the road. I'm heading out tomorrow morning, and if I'm being totally real with you guys, I'm terrified of something, though I can't even put my finger on what it is.