Herzl barely had enough bite and reassured me that he was satisfied so I put him to bed. I was barely halfway through his bedtime story when I noticed that he was already fast asleep.

I took a hot shower, dressed up in a casual plain gown and stepped out of the house, this time it was more convenient to get to the hospital in my car.

Mrs. Smith was fast asleep in the waiting area when I got there and the doctors were still operating on Ryan so I sat beside her waiting for news from them, but when the doctors stepped out of surgery, they were all looking...