Wednesday - it's nearly our turn.......

So, the day is almost upon us. Less than 12 hours from now Daniel should be in surgery. This morning we had Daniel's pre-op physiotherapy assessment, which took about an hour and a half. They filmed all his movements at present, so they can compare them later. He worked hard; his walking in the walker was not his best, but it didn't really matter, and he otherwise did really well. We were a bit concerned that he was looking quite pale and tired, and all sorts of bribery and blackmail were needed to get some breakfast down him. However, he seemed to pick up as the day went on and we hope that he wakes up tomorrow morning still well.

After some lunch in the hospital cafe, we caught the shuttle back and then let Daniel rest and play for the rest of the afternoon, while Mum, Dad and Rich went on an ultimately unsuccessful car-hire mission!

We had to give Daniel a bath and hairwash, as instructed by the hospital, not least because after tomorrow he will not be able to be bathed for 10 days (yuk!) The hotel have been brilliant and after our disastrous bath the other night they have provided us with a non-slip bath mat, and also bed rails to stop Daniel falling out of bed. This meant that as long as we kept a hand on him to steady him Daniel was much more relaxed and even quite giggly in the bath, trying to divert the water as it was poured over his head, so it went all over Daddy's trousers.

We then fed him as much tea as he would possibly eat, since he will be nil by mouth in the morning, before putting both children to bed super-early. Rich and I are now trying to stay calm, fighting any waves of panic, and packing what we think we will need in the hospital tomorrow - a bit of guess-work involved there, since we don't really know how the day (and tomorrow night) will pan out. We will be up very early, in order to be at the hospital by 5.45 am, with Daniel due to go into surgery at 7.15 am (1.15pm UK time).

Our early departure tomorrow means we will miss saying goodbye to Sophia, her Mum and Grandma, as they set off back to the UK. Sophia had her SDR 4 weeks ago; she is doing brilliantly and although we have only had a few days to get to know them, they have been so helpful to us, and we will miss them. We wish them a safe journey back home, and will continue to follow Sophia's progress.

Thank you for all the messages of support, we really do value them. We also heard of the beautiful ceremony which Daniel's class held this afternoon for him, which made us feel very emotional. If you could spare him a thought tomorrow lunchtime (Thursday) too, we would certainly appreciate that!