A NEW CATHETER

16 Jan 23

Sleepless night. Not a moment’s rest. Racing mind. I wake up with an elevated temperature and fear of an infection. Blood in the urine.

A new catheter and a massive pain in the genitals. An anaesthetic in the penis. A visit to the laryngologist after the incident with the fish and the Heimlich manoeuvre. Tubes up the nose and down the throat and a sore arse.

A visit from my new friend, a man I call the Maestro, an actor and director who brings me a cappuccino and feeds it to me through a straw. His experiences have been much worse than mine, almost unendurable.