Up the bum

Stomach pain after a holiday in France and a night out with friends is initially attributed to teenage overindulgence and alcohol poisoning. It is several days before George's burst appendix is diagnosed, necessitating an unpleasant procedure to insert a tube to drain the poison from his abdomen. Delays in diagnosis, inadequate pain relief and all the indignities that accompany severe infection have left George with an abiding loathing of hospitals.