"Patents do not cost a small fortune. Actually, they are very
cheap to get. It's the preparations and the forms that people
get taken for."

In the United States to apply for a patent and pursue it all the way to
a granted U.S. patent cost a minimum of about $2000 in patent office
fees for an individual or small company. If there are appeals and
other difficulties it may cost significantly more. Any legal fees are
additional.

Typical legal fees for writing and prosecuting a patent application
(U.S. only) are generally in the range of $5000 - $10,000.

I don't know if $2000 and $5000-$10,000 are "cheap" or a "small
fortune". That's for the inventor to decide.