Tomorrow is D-day. At 1030 am Alice will arrive back at St. George’s Hospital in London for the surgery to fit her second, left-side Cochlear Implant.

It all feel so very different this time.

Alice’s Mummy and I have buried our heads in the sand and have tried not to think about the mechanics of what will happen tomorrow. Anyone who has had a child go through surgery will know how bad it feels. That said, Alice’s recovery last time was so rapid – she didn’t even have any painkillers beyond 24hours after her surgery – that we can but hope she doesn’t hate us for putting her through this – again!.

I guess that’s the crux of the issue. The first implant was an easy decision – if we wanted Alice to hear and speak it was the only option. This time round, the benefits will be fewer and farther between, but we are still convinced we are doing the right thing. In any case, Alice keeps asking when she is getting her new ‘Big ear’. She wants pink covers for both of them too. Bless.

After the surgery comes the misery of the three week wait until she is ‘switched on’.

In so much as Alice understands what is going on, I think she thinks ‘Doctor David will put magic in my ear” (as we keep telling her) and that she will hear straight away. Little does she realise there will be the wait before she gets her processor and then a period (hopefully a short one) of learning to listen through the newly implanted side.

On another note, we finally heard back from Surrey County Council regarding Alice’s statement and our negotiations to avoid tribunal. We have reached agreement. I was so happy I cried.

Say a prayer tomorrow and wish Alice well – she’ll be in surgery some time after lunch – and remember Mrs. Bump from last time:

Meet Mrs. Bump