Cyberchondria

What with my stalwart 85-year-old mum being panicked last month by atrial fibrillation, and subsequently recommended for open-heart surgery for a valve replacement, we've naturally been nosing around sites such as the Thoratic Surgeons' helpful patient information.

Just as naturally, I'm gobbling up articles such as The Times's discovery of "cyberchondria":

"A condition causing great concern to General Practitioners as increasing numbers of us have the temerity to research our own ailments on the internet. Thus armed with information, we then clog up doctors’ surgeries by arrogantly assuming that they might be the remotest bit interested in listening to it."

As a result, we're thinking of gratefully and respectfully - but firmly - declining the offer to put mum under the knife and going for postponement of the dreaded op in favour of keeping her on her various medications and seeing how we go from there.

I am Keeper and Pusher of the Pills and, tho' I say it myself, doing rather a good job about lining them up each morning, noon and eve and seeing that Herself downs them.

One of the instructions from her would-be surgeon in Athens was that she put on 5 kilos and generally protein up in prep for the suggested slicing in a fortnight's time.

Mama is - comment dire? - on the petite side and eats like a swallow so I wasn't too sure of success on that front.

Stap me but she's already added *four* since her return last Saturday the 6th.