A year on.

A year ago right now, I was sitting in my hospital bed, waiting, waiting waiting. I still remember the thoughts going through my head - the fear, the anticipation, the terror that something would go wrong, the firm conviction that I was doing the right thing. I still remember sitting listlessly in my armchair, watching Argentine football on Five.

What a year it's been. Would I have anticipated that I would be using a phone, listening to music, following meetings? Would I have expected that my family life would have changed so much? What about the career boost that renewing my hearing would give me? Not in a month of Sundays. So today, it's really two birthdays - Mandy's (who is 31 today) and mine - the day I was reborn.