It is not as though I am a baby, but, OUCH....OUCH, OUCH....bloody OUCH! I am happy the surgeon gave me very little notice of this operation because I did not have long to think about it. I don't like hospitals, I don't like injections, I don't like anaesthetics and I especially don't like people slicing me up with knives!

I drove to hospital, presented myself for surgery and found the general staff, nursing staff and surgical staff to be wonderful, professional, caring and in most cases jocular. They made my stay in hospital most comfortable. (Above is my room in Corella Ward...very nice).

I was wheeled into the operating theatre at 2pm and succumbed to the anaesthetic in record time. I think I was unconscious in about a tenth of one second. At just before 4pm, I awoke with a surprisingly clear head and, at least from my perspective, I was as lucid as ever.

Then the staff unplugged me, took me to my room and there I stayed in relative comfort. Despite a 100mm incision through the wall of my stomach (I know what a caesarian section is like now K) I required no pain medication and slept well during the night. My surgeon came in the following morning and asked all about me. I assured him I was very fit, so he said if I could go home, just 18 hours after the operation was concluded. Yay!

He probably would have been a little upset to find I live alone and had to drive home in my own car. Friends had offered to give me a lift and to monitor my progress at home, but I am independent and don't like to be a burden. So, here I am. Home. I am not in much discomfort as long as I lie down or stand up. The transition from either one to the other is murder. But I am sure it will only last another day or so.

I am not allowed to lift "anything heavier than a telephone directory" until September and sadly, that means I can't train for the Asian Masters Swimming in Singapore in August. And I was only asked to join the team the day before I got the call to go in for surgery. c'est la vie!

So, now I have some enforced relaxation time.....Time to study Japanese.