Freelance Traveller

This article originally appeared in the September/October 2023 issue.

At a suggestion by Mr Collinson, due to the events described and the timing of the writing of this Confession and the previous one, we have agreed to run both Confessions in a single issue.

I write between cancer diagnosis and surgery which is an interesting time of waiting, concerns, questions and the nearly full-time job of letting the various communities I’m part of know what’s going on. But still the peace. Which is a good job as a number of family, friends and even work colleagues are visibly upset on my behalf. And if I ever felt a need for more hugs, that’s been remedied this week.

I can hardly complain. I was going to have wait three-plus weeks for the surgery slot. Friday last they offered me a cancellation. On Monday. I’m going in tomorrow. That was something of a surprise but will actually work out well with relatives from France visiting just when I might have been spending a week in hospital. Though I suspect my nephews, both now doctors in their own right, would have been interested either in my treatment or in a ‘compare and contrast’.

Never mind the strains of not knowing what lies ahead and all that. There are also the delights of pre-op preparation. I’ll spare you the gory details but some of it is distinctly unpleasant. Well, they do want a clean bowel to work with! Could they not have just done a bit of suction or something while they were in there? That together with the fasting has meant a day of feeling rather woeful. Not helped by the warnings of what will be coming in the week of post-op recovery on a ward and then the several weeks of further recovery at home. It’s not going to be a lot of fun. Again, I’ll spare you details.

So, I can’t help trying to imagine a future in the 57th century when things have moved on a little and none of this is necessary. Technologies that obviate much of the above perhaps, or maybe more biotech solutions which are even more in harmony with the body. With no medical training, it’s hard to come up with believable possibilities but when I’ve got some time on my hands and limited ability to get out and about, perhaps I can go through Traveller books and Freelance Traveller to see what medtech has been offered by other authors—I’m sure I can recall some—and see if I can come up with a thing or two.

In the meantime, my summer dips in the sea will be off the table for a while and a fair bit of discomfort and pain on the cards so I’m glad my last ‘social activity’, yesterday, was both a church activity and Traveller. (It was games night and six of us did some char gen and a short scenario). It might be a while before I’m up for playing again and I’ve sadly let the referees who kindly allow me to play know that that will be the case. So hopefully some good medic rolls from the doctors and nurses tomorrow and I’ll see you on the other side. Safe travelling.