Just to add insult to injury - literally!
Thanks for the solidarity; my injury is fixing itself, it would appear, but very.... very.... slowly. I'm doing as little with it as possible, and instead of having to go every week to have it looked at I'm now on three-weekly appointments. The consultant seems happy, so I'm cautiously optimistic.
I have played my bass as much as I've felt able to, but three fingers on the fretting hand takes some getting used to, especially when the inoperable one gets in the way of the three that are having to work harder to make up for it. Still, it's still attached, so I won't complain too much.
Cheers,
JRK