Eli's ear-opening experience

Early morning voyage...
We had to get up at 4:30am this morning in order to get Eli to Bathurst for his ear operation. We jumped in the car and got the heater going. Eli and Clayton snuggled up under Eli's Thomas the Tank Engine doonah and we hit the road just before 5am after a little prayer together.

Eli was totally unphased by the prospect of having an operation. Then again, he's never had one, so he wouldn't know what to expect. We weren't about to tell him it involved a big needle either.

It was a long drive when you're feeling like you should be in bed, so it was a relief to get there in one piece and on time.

Eli was weighed etc and taken into the waiting ward thing by a lovely lady with a strong Irish or Scottish accent... There he laid down on a bed to wait his turn. The proceedure only takes about 10 mins, so they churn em out pretty quick.

There was a little girl in the bed next to Eli, and she went in before him.

They allow one person in when they child goes under the anaesthetic, so Janene went in, and they both had to wear the ridiculous hats and gowns (pic to come!).

While the op happened, Clayton and I went and sat in the back of the station wagon eating chips and having a rest. Then later we went for a drive and got some bacon & egg McMuffins from McDonalds.

Eli went under anaesthetic at 9:30 and was done and fully recovered/awake by 10:10am, so we were allowed to leave soon after that.

Janene said that Eli mumbled some funny things while recovering from the anaesthetic in the recovery room. One that she remembers was that while he was sitting in the chair the nurse came to clean the bed that he came out on. She whipped the sheets off, wiped over the matress and flipped it over... and Eli (still sitting rather still, and mumbling as though in deep thought) said "If I was still on that bed, I'd be dead now".

tehehehe

Well after eating some lunch (again at McDonalds), we headed home. As if the trip there wasn't tough enough, now we really struggled! I was so tired even before leaving, and Janene was the same. I got as far as Lucknow (which is even before Orange) and had to pull over for a break and buy something to eat. I let Janene drive from there, but she only lasted until Molong (on the other side of Orange).

We spent 20 mins or so there, just resting and then walking around a bit. I took over driving again and was fine from there til Dubbo.

In Molong we saw a used car lot, and on the side they had some buses, so we stopped to have a look and asked the man there for some prices. We wrote them down and will pass them onto Capt. Chris Radburn. We still hope that at some point our church can afford a bus that I can drive around picking up the kids and adults for sunday school and church. Keep praying!

And was it worth it?
Eli's hearing seems to have improved already. He's still a rowdy kid and plays loudly when he gets excited, but now we don't have to yell at him to get heard.

We've done a few tests where he turns around and we whisper obscure sentences like "you have a banana sandwich on your butt" and he's been remarkable in relaying what he heard.

So yes, I think it was worth it.