In the days following the colonoscopy, I began to feel unwell, having trouble going to the toilet, feeling very tired and having to drink all the time.

We went to a Carol Service in Winchester Cathedral but I missed most of it as I was sat on the toilet in the deep bowels (!) of the cathedral. I let Phil run wild with the Christmas decorations, putting up decorations that I normally left in the boxes, but I was too tired to argue and just laid on the settee watching him, biting my tongue.

I missed Christmas events because I simply felt too poorly to go and would lay in bed after I’d finished my work (I work from home) and take an hours nap, but still feel tired when I woke up.

I went for a CT scan, where they had the usual problem of inserting a cannula in my arm, my veins don’t like it and magically disappear at the sight of a needle! That went okay, the feeling of having wet yourself at one point during the scan sure felt weird!

Then the symptoms stepped up a notch, I felt extraordinary tired, I felt hot, I felt cold, I uncontrollably shivered, even though I was under the duvet fully clothed with a jumper on. Once I was tempted to phone for an ambulance, but I had an appointment with the consultant the next day so I decided that I would tell him instead.

We arrived for the consultation and everything seemed to be going well until I mentioned the pain in my stomach and the feverish symptoms and the consultant decided that I needed an emergency CT scan to see what was going on.

I was admitted to a hospital bed to wait for my CT scan, it was about 7 PM at this time. We decided it was best for Phil to go home because who knew what time I would be taken down, so he left waiting for the call to come and collect me.

I went down for my second CT scan and then had to wait for the result.

I was told that the tumour had perforated and that was why I was in a lot of pain, I was to be transferred to the Surgical Unit and prepared for an operation. I was moved to the new ward at 2 AM, dozing on and off until the morning.

I was visited by the consultant, who I know now was Mr West and he explained to me what he was going to do. He was going to give me a stoma bag so that the poo will bypass the tumour and not infect it more, then they were going to pump me full of antibiotics.

I had a visit from a stoma nurse who marked on my stomach where the stoma was going to be placed, she explained what it did, but I didn’t really take it all in. Hannah, the Macmillan nurse came and spoke with me, but again, I can’t remember much about what was said.

Unbeknown to me, the consultant had phoned Phil and told him to come over to the hospital to see me before I went down for the operation as it was pretty serious, they didn’t know what they were going to find whilst operating.

After seeing Phil and putting those delightful stockings on, I was taken down to the theatre, I was shaking, not from a fever this time, but from nerves. The operating staff were lovely, making me relax before I drifted off…