Okay I'm going to admit, my memory is a little hazy here and I can't remember if I did all the duplicate tests the day before the op or the day before the day before (probably not that important.)  I also can't remember if I had to do the ultrasound again, but I do remember having to do the X-ray, ECG, blood tests, more weeing in a cup I'm sure, blah, blah, blah… it's all pretty much routine by this point.

I remember sitting with Joel and watching lots of kung fu movies as we waited to actually go into the hospital and be properly admitted.

So finally there I was, in my hospital bed, with my stack of Harry Potter books, my dangling Elvis toy hanging off the side of my bed, and all kinds of nice things tucked into my wheelie cupboard.  I sat there, waiting for the anaesthetist, the physio, the registrar, the surgeon – pretty much anyone who wanted to come by and take a look at me for any reason whatsoever.

The anaesthetist explained that she wouldn't be giving me any pre-med, that I would go down to the theatre and there she would give me some lovely "joy juice", then put in the epidural, and then I'd do the classic count down and be out like a light.  Although I had a choice between the epidural and PCA (the nurses told me to get the PCA) she recommended the epidural.  As she said "When it works it works great, if it doesn't we can always put you on the PCA."  What she failed to explain was that anything that doesn't work leaves you in terrible pain – but the PCA is much harder to start with, and starting off on the epidural was just heavenly.  (Go with your gut on this one.)

The physio explained that straight after the operation it was really important that I wiggle my toes to get the blood circulating again, and the nurses would make me breathe really down deep into my abdomen in order to re-inflate my lung (which the surgeons would collapse during the op in order to get to the kidney – I know, it's pretty gross) and that she would be back the day after the operation to get me up and moving.  She even showed me how I would have to sit up – rolling onto one side, and pushing my body up into a sitting position using my arms.  It sounded grim but I nodded along.

Then I tried to sleep.