The nurses seem to come and check me every hour or so so I don’t get much sleep. I wake fully at about 5:30am when a nurse comes in to give me oral medication as well. She then offers me a coffee and biscuits so I find myself wide awake at 6am drinking a lovely flat white and eating ginger nuts. I really want to text Susannah but I don’t want to wake her if she’s managed to sleep in. 15 minutes later my phone pings and it’s Susannah texting me. We chat a bit and she then goes to do a bit of work before coming to visit me later.

I take a selfie and send it to Susannah. I also attach it to a Facebook post on one of the cancer groups I belong to letting everyone know how my surgery went. I get likes, hearts and comments from members, many of whom I now know quite well virtually. One member writes Big Betty Begone! which is perfect.

I am feeling ok, physically and mentally. I survey myself. I have two Pain Buster devices attached to me by metre long tubes, one for front and one for back. They feed me a continuous dose of local anaesthetic and the nurses can also push the pump to infuse a preset top up if I’m feeling too much pain, which I’m generally not so far, thankfully. I have a catheter, and I also have two drainage bottles attached by even longer tubes to my surgical wounds. I don’t even notice they are there until after the catheter is removed and I need to pee. Two nurses assist me on the very short walk to the bathroom. The two Pain Busters and the two drains accompany us. I call them my four friends.

Susannah visits again. I miss her when she leaves. It’s going to be a long day.

I am allowed to change out of the hospital gown so I choose track pants and loose T. This way I can sleep in them and not have to change again to go home. I have to keep the long surgical socks on. I hate them. They are tight and hot.

C visits again and then Ka and J. It’s nice to have visitors. With that and mealtimes, the day passes quite quickly. Oh, and the food is awesome! Seriously it’s as good as some cafe food. I’ve chosen a smoke salmon and cream cheese bagel for breakfast tomorrow!

I watch the Sweden v Spain football that we had tickets to. Susannah watches from home and we text at the exciting parts. Afterward I am exhausted but can’t sleep. When I’m still wide awake at midnight the nurse gives me a zopiclone.