‘Tabby, I'm going to place these pretty heart stickers on your chest so we can see your heartbeat on our special TV screen, okay?’ He brandishes an adhesive patch at her. It’s bright yellow and covered in tiny red hearts. ‘And this clip goes on your finger like a little hat—it helps us see how much oxygen is in your body.’

‘You mean my sats,’ Tabs says, and both medics laugh.

‘Uh oh, we’re in the presence of an expert, I see,’ Dr Martinez says. ‘No pressure, Nurse Jayden, but I hope you know what you’re doing.’

‘Well, I did until now,’ Nurse Jayden says. ‘Tabby, do you know what this is called?’

‘An oximeter,’ Tabs says, and they laugh again.

‘Tabby, if you want a job, come back and find us in about ten years, alright?’ Dr Martinez tells her.

Her beam of delight has my heart constricting, even if this light-hearted banter makes me feel the tiniest bit better. This is routine for them. It’s all in a day’s work. They wouldn’t be so relaxed and animated if Tabby’s life was on the line, surely?

As Nurse Jayden affixes the electrodes to my daughter’s little torso, her surgeon, Dr Elliott, wanders into the room. Tabby and I have seen him a couple of times since we checked in yesterday morning, and I’m delighted to report that his air of quiet competence is just as notable in the flesh as it is over Zoom.

‘Afternoon, Tabby,’ he says. ‘How are you doing? Mom, you holding up?’

I nod and give him a bright smile for Tabby’s benefit.

‘Glad to hear it.’ He focuses his attention on me. ‘We expect that the surgery will last three to four hours,’ he tells me quietly. ‘We’ll have someone come and let you know when we’re done.’

I nod. ‘I appreciate it.’ He ran the timings past us yesterday, so I know that the actual valve replacement will take two to three hours. I’ll be notified when the closing-up begins and then again when Tabs is out of theatre.

Eventually, Dr Martinez produces the mask, and I steel myself. There will be other operations in Tabby’s future, but I will never, ever get used to this part, to watching my child lose consciousness and being forced to walk away, leaving her there for strangers to cut open.

I bend over far enough that my face is all Tabby can see and I give her my best, brightest smile. ‘This is it, my love! I’m so proud of you, and I love you so much.’

‘I love you too, Mummy,’ she says, reaching up her skinny little arms and pulling me down for a hug. I drink in her scent for a moment before forcing myself to pull away.

‘I’ll be right beside you when you wake up. I promise.’