I didn’t have insurance when I broke mine at age 21. I couldn’t afford the surgery let alone time away from work, so I chose not to have surgery. Now I’m 26, had to switch professions, have a gimp walk, can predict weather, don’t have anything close to full range of motion, and am about to get arthritis cleaned out. I had to do what made sense at the time, but looking back I could have found away to get the money for the surgery.