@loriaakre I'm glad if it can be any help for you, the response was more for @sandie2749 since she said she could go to Boston and stay with relatives there.
I think your surgeon, although perhaps highly regarded, lacks a bit of empathy. I don't understand why, if there is a bone chip there that's causing pain, it cannot be eliminated fairly easily, but of course I am not a doctor so there may be things I know too little about. I do think I would seek a second opinion on that though.
Doctor visits are a bit intimidating right now though, and I think they will be for a long time so we may need to adjust our thinking and forge ahead at some point, taking every precaution. I have canceled an appointment I had for later this month. When you are older and have other risk factors it's just too scary!
JK