Hi Anne-Marie,
Thanks for the advice, I'll see what I can think up.
Unfortunately, our daughter lives two hours' drive away, but at least she'll be in the country and will be able to talk on the phone for longer than a few minutes, and I think we'll arrange to go and see her as soon as possible.

On another thread, I'm wondering whether I've been unnecessarily cruel; when I went in for the laser surgery, I told Von I'd prefer her to stay at home because she doesn't drive, it would be a 3-hour train journey each way, the hospital only allows visitors for a couple of hours in the evening, and I wouldn't be able to talk to her anyway.
I just thought there was no point in going through all the hassle of trying to visit.
Was I wrong? Should we have booked her into a nearby B&B or something? I just felt I'd worry about her less if I knew she was safe at home.
Presumably I'll be having a neck dissection soon. What would anyone advise?