It was a difficult case to diagnose, unless a doctor has seen it before, and the GP who FINALLY took me on his regular patient list (everyone wants to be a specialist, apparently, so GPs are hard to find) said I shouldn't be hard on the diagnosticians that "failed." He told me he had been board certified since the early 80s and had never seen a case. What turned out to be colonies of bacteria that had had wanderlust and meandered into other organs led to diagnoses of liver cancer, then lung cancer, because they looked like small tumours.
I did MANY rounds through a walk-in clinic, every test you could imagine, a stay in ICU, (which finally resulted in the right diagnosis because the Dr. is brilliant - a Staph A infection in my heart), surgery, a stay in cardiac recovery, and 6 weeks of 2-a-day IV antibiotics at home to make sure the entire infection was dead. I'd had a drastically lowered heart function, diagnosed as having 30% lung function, 30% liver function and ZERO kidney function when I was admitted.
Back at home, it was weeks before I could manage the 200 ft> walk to the corner of my block and back, but eventually got to walking 2 miles in 40 minutes, which my GP and cardiologist were THRILLED about. The cardio and the surgeon both told me it was the most damaged heart they'd ever seen anyone survive, so...Personal Best for them! 
My total out of pocket was parking and gas.
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