On Thursday I found myself sitting on a stool in an operating theatre looking at one of my sons. He was lying on the bed surrounded by machines and nurses, a needle in one hand, the other clutching mine and looking slightly wild eyed and scared. The anaesthetist put a mask over his face. I caught a faint whiff of strawberry as the gas started to flow. Two big chocolatey eyes were fixed on me for one breath, then two, then they fluttered and closed and he was under.

It was only adenoids being removed. But it's an odd thing seeing your child rendered so vulnerable and then having to leave the room so the doctors can do their thing. Knowing that next time you see that child he'll be bewildered, groggy and in pain. I can't imagine how parents of seriously ill children cope with this when their child is having major surgery and the risks are so much greater. They'd have to be so brave and strong.