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One Thing Leads to Another

One Thing Leads to Another

Ian Martin in Pearly Beach

One Thing Leads to Another

On a hot day in February 2019, I consulted a dermatologist in Hermanus. A thin woman in her fifties, she wore a strapless dress that was so flimsy and loose-fitting it occurred to me she might be wearing a nightie. I asked her to take a look at some skin blemishes. She said the one on my cheek next to the left ear lobe appeared suspicious and should be investigated. A few days later she phoned to say that the biopsy had revealed the presence of a squamous cell carcinoma, which could be surgically removed by a plastic surgeon colleague of hers. He was 80 years old but, she assured me, his eyesight was still keen and his hands were as steady as a 70-year-old’s.

The procedure took place at the Hermanus Mediclinic, where, in 2016, I had undergone two separate operations on my cancerous prostate gland. (See The Lead Cylinder and the Plastic Urine Sieve.) Although this facial surgery was of a minor nature, it also had to be done under general anaesthesia and I again experienced the sudden and total loss of consciousness that had surprised and delighted me twice before. This time, however, the anaesthetist must have brought me round prematurely, because I was aware of the surgeon still swabbing the side of my face. I was also filled with a vague sense of embarrassment, suspecting that I had been talking a lot of confused nonsense as I returned to consciousness.

You can read the rest of this story here.

To view my longer work as an author, you can find me on Smashwords here.
 

One Thing Leads to Another

Ian Martin

This is my writer's blog and it's a pleasure to have your company. You’ll see that the site is designed to showcase my writing.

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