‘The person I was before brain surgery is gone, but that’s OK’ — Melanie Finn on the rare cyst that threatened her life and her path to recovery

It’s the night before my brain surgery, the operation that will save my life. I’m in the high-dependency unit (HDU) in Dublin’s Beaumont Hospital and all around me are slumbering patients. It’s quiet except for the sound of beeping machines and the ever-present team of medical staff calmly carrying out their duties.