I an Doncaster is remarkably chipper for a man about to undergo major surgery. "I have a busy life. So it's nice to have a break," he jokes. It is 8.30am on a chilly December morning and here at Warwick hospital he is about to receive a new knee - or part of one.
At 62, Doncaster has always been active: he played rugby when young, until a knee injury and subsequent operation meant he had to trade that in for other sports. But now the knee is causing problems again. As a self-employed chartered engineer, he needs to be able to get up and down tower blocks. Even going hiking with his wife seems a wistful dream. "Going forward, it's only going to get worse," he says.
Which is why Doncaster is having a patellofemoral replacement, a partial knee replacement in which the wornout cartilage that covers the end of the femur and underside of the kneecap will be removed and implants inserted.
Pre-op, he has the air of someone who has watched a YouTube video or two. "It's brutal stuff. They cut the knee in half. They rip it apart. I mean, orthopaedic surgery is carpentry, isn't it?" Doncaster says. He's not wrong: when it comes to joint replacements, the tools of the trade wouldn't look out of place in a workshop.
After donning a gown and receiving anaesthetic into his spine, Doncaster is wheeled into the theatre and his leg swiftly wrapped in a yellow antimicrobial film.
Half a dozen or so nurses clad in blue scrubs and masks are ready for action. What is undoubtedly a big day for Doncaster is just a normal morning for the team: typically, such operations are finished in just over an hour.
The nurses check they have the right patient, and the right procedure, and ensure all the instruments - from hefty power tools to delicate scalpels - are primed for use.
Denne historien er fra February 23, 2024-utgaven av The Guardian Weekly.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra February 23, 2024-utgaven av The Guardian Weekly.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
If kids get protected from online harm, how about the rest of us?
The Australian government has proposed a ban on social media for all citizens under 16.
'It's not drought - it's looting'
Spain is increasingly either parched or flooded - and one group is profiting from these extremes: the thirsty multinational companies forcing angry citizens to pay for water in bottles.
Life in the grey Zone
Neonatal care has advanced so far that babies born as early as 21 weeks have survived. But is this type of care always the right thing to do?
Out of tune? Band Aid under fire for Africa tropes as it turns 40
Forty years ago this month, a group of pop stars gathered at a west London studio to record a single that would raise millions, inspire further starry projects, and ultimately change charity fundraising in the UK.
Deaths shine spotlight on risks of drinking on party trail
Vang Vieng is an unlikely party hub. Surrounded by striking limestone mountains and caves in central Laos, it morphed from a small farming town to a hedonistic tourist destination in the early 2000s.
Different strokes My strange and emotional week with an AI pet
Moflin can develop a personality and build a rapport with its owner - and doesn't need food or exercise. But is it comforting or alienating?
Strike zone Waking up to the rising threat of lightning
When the Barbados National Archives, home to one of the world's most significant collections of documents from the transatlantic slave trade, reported in June that it had been struck by lightning, it received sympathy and offers of support locally and internationally.
Cheap pints and sticky carpets: the old-school pub is back
In the Palm Tree pub, east London, barman Alf is taking only cash at the rattling 1960s till.
Brain gain Can a radical tax scheme convince the country's brightest to stay?
In the autumn of 2018, I moved to Lisbon for a month-long course at the Universidade .de Lisboa.
Fear and sympathy in small town divided over asylum camp
A year after anti-immigration riots, a site for asylum seekers faces hostility while some locals try to help new arrivals
