Great to meet you Paul, thanks for your advice! I am seeing an ENT on Friday, so I suppose we will take it from there. My dentist seemed a little bit nervous about Kaiser because they are an HMO, but there are some conveniences about being in a network. And it's inexpensive, a lot of procedures are covered with a very modest co-pay. My boss talked to HR yesterday and said that she would try and ensure that my finances are covered as much as possible, so that is good news. Instead of having to take a leave of absence, I can work from home as long as I can talk and type. She also said she would give me projects that don't require travel until we know more information. If my speech is affected though after surgery, I will need to take a leave of absence as I do have a lot of direct interaction from clients. So, we will play it by ear. I just wish I had some sort of schedule, what to expect and when...like a project plan! But, it sounds like with having a whole team to treat you, it's pretty hard to know everything in advance.