Things that were difficult or seriously uncomfortable in the week or so after surgery: turning my head right or left, bending down to pick something up off the floor, laughing, coughing, sneezing, yawning, lifting things with any weight, sitting up while lying on my back, swallowing, and speaking loudly.

Things that are difficult or seriously uncomfortable today: any tasks that require somewhat significant amounts of energy, mornings (I wake up very tired even after 11 hours of sleep), temperatures below 22 degrees C, keeping warm, shouting, and singing.

Yes, singing.

I hadn’t tried to sing before the last couple of days, but I can’t do it. I can barely hum. It feels like I don’t have enough voice to cover it, as J.R.R. Tolkien put it when trying to describe the effect of a lifetime guarding the great ring: he felt like butter scraped over too much toast.

Perhaps I just need to practice. If you happen to hear a thin warbling sound in your travels, kindly just look the other way.