The family now has a six week wait to see if the operation was successful.

BBC: Baby Sanika Ahmed's arm surgery legal fight over

Wright's friend Rick Hession has a heart condition that could cause a stroke, but he has a three-month wait or more for an operation to help correct it.

CNN: Reality check: Canada's government health care system

Relative to population, eight times more people wait over six months for a hospital operation than in England.

ECONOMIST: The new Welsh way of government: more money, less choice

In 2001, patients requiring elective surgery could wait as long as 18 months for an operation.

ECONOMIST: Reform rather than cash is the right medicine for the NHS

And he promised by 2008 no-one in England would have to wait longer than 18 weeks from seeing their GP to having their operation.

BBC: People have higher expectations of the NHS, John Reid says

Some, like Crow, take the wait-and-see approach, while others might never need an operation or treatment.

CNN: Sheryl Crow: Brain tumor is a 'bump in the road'