February 8: There, there

I saw the consultant today. Not a scheduled visit but an impromptu one to see what the pain is. I arrive at 8.30am. The receptionists are very kind. Of course we can sneak you in, they say. The consultant pokes and prods me but doesn’t really have a diagnosis. Post-operative, yes. Anything more precise, no. It may be an adhesion, a band of internal scar tissue that can tighten and sometimes hurt like buggery.
But, as she points out, it is only six weeks since my operation. Pain, unfortunately, is a side-effect. She scans me, oohhs and ahhhhs over Bump. But there’s nothing that can be seen that could be responsible for the it. She packs me off with some iron tablets. They must be the lolly-pops for grown-ups. There, there dear, run along home. There’s nothing wrong with you. Take some iron. All will be better.