Tuesday 26th February 2008

A very quick post with more details to follow when we can. We have received contact from Berlin that Dr Waner and Dr Fay will be attending the clinic next week, so we have to be at the hospital on Friday 29th February for pre-op exams ready for surgery on Monday 3rd March. At the moment we are frantically trying to book flights, hire car, and find some accommodation!

No details on what they plan to do this time, although Ellis' eye will be the priority as anything else can be done by Dr Waner on his own. This means that once again we need to call on peoples generosity so that we can raise further funds towards the growing costs. We really do appreciate your support and any amount no matter how small really does make a difference.

We will keep you posted on this trip and provide more details on what they plan to do this time as and when we can.

An apology to recent winners of our eBay auctions, we had committed to sending all purchased items by Friday 29th thinking we would send them well before that deadline. I hope you can understand that our efforts have had to be directed towards this last minute trip and so, with the help of my colleagues at Intamac, we only managed to get them sent on the 29th.

Thursday 28th February 2008

This trip has to be the most frantic to date and almost didn't happen. There are numerous conventions going on in Berlin this week and next, so flights are almost booked up and no hotel has availability for our entire stay, regardless of budget. Thankfully Debbie's persistence has paid off and she has found an apartment just 5 minutes from the Benjamin Franklin campus, which ironically is the closest we have ever been!

So here we go again flying with Easyjet, collection of hire car then off to the apartment which turns out to be easy to find but not great accommodation - lets just say, sometimes you understand why they have availability...Debbie describes it generously as tired and drab, and if we were in Berlin for any other reason, we'd have flown back home by now!

Ellis is being his usual cheerful self and enjoying the adventure although with a little apprehension, which is understandable. Tyler, Ellis' younger brother, is crawling now, so first priority is baby-proofing the apartment followed by a trip to the shops for essentials (with no oven we are limited to things that can be cooked or heated on the hob.)

Friday 29th February 2008

This is a day we normally dread, hanging around the hospital waiting for pre-op exams, etc, which is nobody's fault, just one of those things, especially as Dr Waner is normally in surgery so we see him when he's between cases. Today is a little different as Dr Waner and Dr Fay aren't flying in until Sunday so pre-op exams only; consent forms, updated pictures for records, and anaesthetist. It's the speediest visit we've ever had! The downside is that we have to be back on Sunday at 2pm so that the surgeons can see Ellis and decide what to do this time. We're warned to expect a long wait as there are lots of cases.

We are out of the hospital so early after pre-op, that we even have time to visit Berlin Zoo, which is a great place where you can get very close to the animals. Ellis really likes the aquarium so he can see the Clown ("Nemo") fishes and also the spiders and snakes on the 2nd floor.

Sunday 2nd March 2008

After a restful Saturday, we brace ourselves for a long afternoon at the hospital, not exactly the Mother's Day that Debbie was looking forward to at the start of the week!

Amazingly we are seen first at just after 2pm and both Dr Waner and Dr Fay are pleased with the results of the last surgery. Ellis is amazing again and just smiles at them as they pull his eyelid around to see what needs doing this time. The lower lid is holding up well but the upper lid is too long and a part needs to be removed just as we had expected and discussed last time. They also plan to remove the last remnants of extra tissue from just above the eyebrow. Dr Waner will also shorten the lower lip which has been stretched during the aggressive growth of the haemangioma. We discussed Ellis' nose and ear and it was decided that these should be left for another time. One of the most reassuring things for us is that Dr Waner never forgets that his patient is a child and is mindful of not putting them through more than is necessary during each surgery.

Ellis is scheduled for surgery Monday 3rd March at 7am, first on the list again. He can't eat after midnight Sunday. Surgery will take anything from 2-3 hours, during which they will also laser the other areas on his face. Then there is usually an hour or so in recovery. We will post updates throughout the day when possible, and hopefully include a picture at some point after surgery, so you can see the immediate results.