"In early October 2014 I was urgently referred to..."

In early October 2014 I was urgently referred to the Orthopaedic Trauma Board by a Consultant Surgeon following results of an MRI which indicated an extremely large disc herniation. I went in for elective surgery the morning of Thursday 6th November 2014. The day before the procedure I was assigned a bed in Parkside, the private ward, due to the lack of beds in the main hospital - this was a lovely surprise and it was a real blessing to have my own room. I was down as a nervous patient, which I readily admit to, not having had adult surgery before... but I was fine and felt looked after throughout. In retrospect I even rather enjoyed being put under (the part which strangely terrified me most)… well played, anaesthetics team! My surgery was the first on the list which meant I arrived at 7am and was being taken for my General Anaesthetic not long after 8am, so no hanging around… The surgery was a success straight away - I was up and walking to the bathroom and around my room from the afternoon, on NSAIDs only. I went home the next afternoon, where I have gone from strength to strength. All back pain and nerve compression symptoms were alleviated straight away. This morning (07 Jan 2015) I met the Consultant Surgeon for my follow-up and have been discharged… and can now drive again! :D All the staff I met throughout the process - from the MRI radiographers, the Consultant Surgeon's secretary who answered my myriad of questions and went beyond the call of duty in her care of me, the helpful off-duty paramedics who showed us the way and wheeled me up to the ward first thing, to the nurses, porters, and of course doctors (including the Consultant Surgeon & team, the Surgical Registrar, Anaesthetist and a nurse who for some reason told me he wasn't very nice before putting my G.A. cannula in (!)) - were great. The NHS gets such a bad press but I am one who had a very positive experience and cannot speak highly enough about the quality of care I received. Now it is down to me to honour their skills by staying fit and healthy! Thank you! :)