Further news on the Matter

 An email correspondent informs me that there is a more prosaic explanation for the name
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matterhorn#Naming
"The mountain derives its name from the German words Matte, meaning "meadow", and Horn, which means "peak"...."
So as he says: "Sadly not a large creature at all, just a large space to hold the large creature..."

Well, yes. After all, what was the lifestyle of the Matter, and what was its native habitat? "Whale" and "meadow" aren't a combination that had previously occurred to me, and the idea of the creature I'd imagined gambolling lightly in the fields is a little hard to visualise, but if you think in terms of an underwater "meadow" full of flowers, why not? Also, this creature doesn't have to have a high probability rating. I'm not suggesting the place was overrun with the things, when quite clearly there was only one. I have a suspicion, though, that those flowers may have included a bowl of petunias, and that was was reported as being "a sudden wet thud" was actually a splash.

 

There must be a positive side to this, somewhere

But at the moment, I'm falling back on "interesting challenge in the art of finding a positive aspect to everything".

You know I mentioned the "Just One More X-ray Saga" as something to be explained later? Let's summarise it now: the last week of my stay in the Lister was due to needing One More Xray. This Xray would be taken at exactly the right angle to determine whether a thing called Talar Shift had occurred. There's a bone in the ankle called the Talar Bone that's a bit like a ball-bearing - it's held in a socket formed by other bones, including the one I broke. If it's not held in place properly, the entire ankle goes unstable, and isn't suitable for walking on.

So, they took this Xray, and then realised it hadn't been at quite the right angle, so I'd need One More Xray, for which the orthapaedic consultant should be present so as to make sure the angle was right, only I get down to Xray and they can't find him, so they guess, and take me back, and it wasn't right, and... repeat for a week. Maybe there's been Talar Shift. Maybe there hasn't. They're not sure. Probably not.

Eventually (last Friday) they decided to send me home, and get One More Xray in a fortnight, when I was due for a Fracture Clinic anyway. Any operation would have to wait till this one healed up, so I might as well go home and stop blocking a bed.

I just got a call from the Lister. They're now sure - yes, we have Talar Shift. They want to do not just an Xray but a CT scan, and then operate immediately afterwards. They'll keep me in for (at a guess) another week. Transport is being arranged, I'll get a call at 09:00 tomorrow to confirm times, but avoiding breakfast would be advisable.

Good points?
Um.
1) I know what to expect from hospital, I know what to pack, and what not to pack.
2) The problems expressed in trying to get me transport (can I get into a cab? yes, if I could get down the steep step to get out of the house!) led us to some experimentation and ingenuity involving the back door and careful positioning of chairs, and yes, we do now know how to get me out of the house, and back in again, on a walking frame. Whether we'd manage in and out of a car, we're not sure, but that's easier.
3) If I have to have this second op, better to get it over with. Much better than discovering Talar Shift by trying to walk and having my ankle falling apart on me.