Here we go again!

Saturday 1st December

We are at the Express Holiday Inn, Luton, for an overnight stay before flying to Berlin early on Sunday (2nd December 2007). This is our first trip with Ellis able to understand where we are going and what it's for, he is in great spirits and really looking forward to going on a plane!

Upon landing in Berlin we will pick up a rental car then head off to the apartment. The main reason for this trip is to balance up Ellis' eye, remove scar tissue, and maybe debulk the bits around his eyebrow that they couldn't finish during the last surgery.

Ellis has all his pre-op stuff on Monday with the Benjamin Franklin Hospital staff so they can ensure Ellis is fit enough for the surgery. We will also see Dr Waner and Dr Fay so they can see exactly what they can achieve during this surgery.

We have been overwhelmed by people's generosity since launching The Ellis Fund and have already raised £350 through the eBay auctions and another £50 from PayPal donations in just a few weeks. There is also a fund raising tin at Intamac which hasn't been totaled up yet but I know that my colleagues have been very generous. Thank you so much to everyone that has shown there support for Ellis both financially and emotionally.

Sunday 2nd December

After getting up at the crack of dawn we got to Luton airport in good time ready for the flight to Berlin. Ellis loved every minute of the flight and the Easy Jet staff were fantastic even letting him into the cockpit after we had landed.

Once landed we picked up our luggage and then the car. This is the first time we've driven on these trips so thankfully I've got my TomTom although that doesn't help with the weird sensation of driving on the right! We found the apartment easily, all shops shut on a Sunday, so managed to get something to eat then off to bed (another early night!).

There is a science museum opposite with dinosaurs which Ellis hasn't stopped askkng about so we'll try and get there before we come home on Friday.

Monday 3rd December

First stop shops to get some essential breakfast supplies then straight off to Benjamin Franklin for the all too familiar pre-op meetings and waiting around (paper work, photographs, anaesthetist). We also see Dr Kandilakis who is pleased with how well Ellis' birthmark is involuting. Last meeting is with Dr Fay (eye specialist) and Dr Waner (facial reconstruction) who take a good look at Ellis, who just grinned while they pulled his skin around, and decide to focus on the eye with laser treatment everywhere else. Further operations will focus on his lips, ears and nose possibly in March 2008.

This surgery will take 4 hours and involves 4 separate operations. 1) raise the outer part of the eyelid; 2) raise the inner part of the eyelid; 3) remove part of his eyelid; 4) move some tissue around the eyebrow to even it up. We spoke to Dr Fay about what might happen if all this doesn't heal properly like Ellis' previous operations, he said that now the birthmark was involuting this was unlikely.

Interestingly Dr Fay said this is why they (he & Dr Wanner) believe in operating as young as possible because they can be aggressive without risking permanent scaring. He added that how Ellis looks now, despite the previous operations taking a long time to heal, is an example of how well young skin can handle very invasive surgery which was necessary to save his eyesight*. A 6 year old undergoing the kind of surgery Ellis needed would likely be left with scars.

Anyway, Ellis is booked in for surgery on Tuesday at 7.30am so we have to be at hospital for 7am. Looks like all these early nights will come in handy as tomorrow is going to be a long day.

* This will be clearer once we add details to Ellis' previous operations along with extra pictures.