First & formost let me say I was blown away by the huge response I received when you were informed of my illness. The word 'thank you" in no way expresses the support that you all have given me. A bit of background is in order,when I awoke on Friday 11th of January two of the fingers on my left hand were "asleep". A little later the third & then the fourth went the same way. Phyllis got very worried(I have had a stroke before) & took me straight to the hospital.As soon as the nurse saw my hand they admitted me on the spot. Friday night & Saturday were given to test after test to the point I had my own personal porter. All this showed the artery to my right cortex was virtually blocked & might cause a major stroke at any moment. They decided to operate right away on Monday.One doctor from Saudi,one from Iran & the main surgeon was Chinese.When the Chinese doctor visited me before the operation I paid particular attention to how steady his hands were & asked how much practice he had, he said hundreds. Then the doctor that knocks you out came & I asked how big a Mallet he had to use, I am sure they thought I was a nut case.His name was Fraser so must have a touch of Scottish in himHere I should tell you that I have had Gout for a long time & the meds for it were affecting my kidneys to the point that they could not use dye to install stints so had to operate on artery to clear the plaque. I have sleep apnea and normally use a air mask to sleep. All went well with the operation until I did not start breathing,panic, I am not sure how fast but they put a tube in to my lungs & got me started again. I had the tube & also a feeding tube for 3 days & let me tellyou you NEVER want it in you,for me it was one constant gag. Because of low oxygen intake it was decided that it was better not to move me so I was in ICU until Phyllis brought me home,( 11 days) a very rare occurrence they tell me. The room was state of the art & very bright with great lighting & a modern T/V, you could even see all your vital signs on it.to you all once again a big thank you, Phyllis in particular felt your support every day,you really don't realise what a great group of Guys & girls you are, I have lived a long time & never had this kind of support. Thank you Martin for your website & last but not least to my friend Dave & Jenny (Norsman)who stayed in touch every day & kept you all informed about me. On a sad note I was upset to hear of Peters death, he was a friend to us all & will be sadly missed, RIP. Mick.B. PS = I will at a later date contact all that sent personal messages & will also explain more about the C/V joint that Petty officer Nick & Dave so kindly posted for me & YES it is a true C/V joint because it will drive through 360 degrees without binding. It is also very strong & there is repair kits also available, but more on that later, I am tired now. Yes the nurses were lovely but as soon as you start to notice they send you home.