In 1955/56 (I was six years old) I had been in and out of hospital all my life. My mother even took me back to London to the Childrens Hospital and Tropicala Diseases Hospital but apart from wanting to build my one shoe up, nobody knew what was wrong. It reached a climax in (I think) 1956. A Dr McGladdery in Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) operated on me and discovered that I had been born with a detached gall-bladder. I don't know the medical terms but remember that it was HUGE news at the time. My father was away in N Rhodesia and was flown to Gwelo (now Gweru Hospital) under police escort because I wasn't expected to live.They probably wouldn't make such a fuss nowadays ;-). There were a couple of other doctors in the surgical team. Apparently it was the size of a tennis ball when it was removed and it could have exploded as it was full of white powder.)... I would really love it if someone could help me find out more about it. I believe Dr McGladdery reported it to the Lancet magazine at the time. I heard about him again in about 1979 and I contacted him. He sent me a lovely long letter saying that it was the highlight of his career and he was thrilled that I had made contact with him. He has since passed away. I am now 67 years old and have been extremely healthy since it was removed. He told my parents that I was the third child in known history, but neither of the others had survived the operation. My medical knowledge is zero :-)