7 Years 81 days - Pre Surgery7 Years 81 days - Pre Surgery
I'm Quitting Alcohol
David Boyle shares a raw and darkly funny account of the night before major lung surgery, covering hospital prep, healthcare quirks and his sober perspective. The episode captures his mix of anxiety, humour and determination to resolve a recurring health problem without turning back to alcohol.
6:50•4 Aug 2026
Shaved, Scared and Sober: Boyle’s Pre-Surgery Hospital Diary
Episode Overview
- Boyle faces lung surgery after a previous poorly handled procedure and chooses to go ahead to cut recurrence risk from around 50% to about 2%.
- He travels without insurance for the first time, relying on the Australia–Ireland reciprocal health care agreement for treatment.
- An awkward shaving encounter with hospital staff highlights the indignities of surgery prep and Boyle’s habit of defusing tension with humour.
- He praises the Irish public hospital system, especially the quality of the food and general care compared with his experiences in Australia.
- Despite fear of anaesthetic and catheter insertion, Boyle stays committed to sobriety and focuses on getting the ordeal over with.
“Hopefully I just go under and pop back out when I am done.”
What emotional and inspiring tales of recovery are out there? This bite-sized instalment of "I'm Quitting Alcohol" drops you straight into David Boyle’s hospital room, where sobriety meets scalpel with a healthy dose of dark humour. You’ll hear Boyle, seven years and 81 days off the booze, talk through the night before lung surgery with his usual unfiltered honesty.
From the awkward moment an Irish staff member is sent in to shave him ("I'm like dude, you're about to shave me, grow some balls and watch this old man undress") to the relief of being allowed to wield the clippers himself, the tone swings between absurd and anxious in seconds.
He admits he and his wife forgot travel insurance for this trip, and explains how a reciprocal health care agreement between Australia and Ireland is the only reason this major procedure is going ahead. Boyle also compares Irish public health care with what he’s experienced back home, raving about the hospital food – roast chicken, hake with lentils, chicken stew – served on proper plates rather than in plastic trays.
Underneath the jokes about epidurals, general anaesthetic and having a catheter put "in the eye of my penis", there’s a clear sense of fear and determination. The surgeon tells him the operation should cut his chance of another lung collapse from about 50 percent to two percent.
Boyle decides he’d rather face the operating theatre now than live with the risk hanging over him: "Let's do the surgery, let's get this over and done with." If you’re on your own recovery path and want to hear how sobriety looks when life gets properly messy – hospitals, painkillers, sleepless nights and all – this raw, funny pre-surgery diary might be just what you need. How would you handle a life-changing procedure without reaching for a drink?
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