I am not sure where the story should start about my hospital experience but the part that stands out to me most vividly is the …

… morning before I had to go in. I was a single parent with two kids and it had been a bit of a challenge not only finding someone to look after them for the time I was going to be in hospital, but also getting someone to be kind enough to get up super early and drive me into the hospital! I seem to remember not sleeping much the night before, its that general anaesthetic, I know that hundreds, probably thousands of people have one every day and nothing bad happens but that feeling that it could be you is kind of freaky. I actually wrote a letter to each of my kids before I left, just in case, of course I was able to throw them away when I got back home thank goodness.

I am going to jump to the day I went home actually, and maybe go back to the bit in between as I don’t want to forget to say this. But I had been in hospital for a week and there were loads of things that happened but I remember not being able to wash my hair and how that made me feel – funny isn’t it, there was so many other things that were probably in the grander scheme of things much more significant but I remember my greasy hair! As well as the impossible task of trying to tie some sort of arty headscarf around my head so I looked sort of good, and failing miserably… but on the day I was going home this nurse asked me if I wanted a shower. It kind of felt like she was offering me to go on a luxury holiday it was so good! So she wheeled me into the shower and you know what, she took her shoes and socks off, rolled up her trousers and washed my hair.

Do you know, that was probably the kindest most generous and beautiful thing that anyone has ever done for me, and I still feel moved when I think about it today. Something so simple, and when I said thank you, she said was just part of her job, literally meant the world to me and transformed my experience. Such a very kind thing for anyone to do.

Right, let me go back to when I arrived at the hospital….