black velvet
sub-title; thanks to all blood donors everywhere. * The thing I remember most about March 16th, 1990, is the Black Velvet . Not a dress, not even a piece of fabric, but a sense , a feeling . It was the day of my hystercetomy. My operation had taken hours longer than expected as the surgeon found more and more invasive pre-cancerous lesions, so just kept cutting. I haemorraghed badly, requiring two complete blood transfusions * and had to be revived once. I was expected to surface from the anaesthetic about four hours after being moved to the recovery room, but I didn't. I stayed under until the next day and scared everyone silly. I'm nothing if not thorough.... The very first thing I became aware of was the soft, velvety blackness that my mind had been floating in. I felt warm and safe and desperately wanted to stay there, so sank back into unconsciousness. But the machines recording my life signs had alerted the nurses that I was finally waking up. The next...