Tears of joy

We had a very long day. Marc had his stapedectomy today. This surgery was meant to correct 16 years of hearing loss in his right ear. He had to be under general anesthesia, and there are some risks, although it's considered pretty safe overall. Plus, he had one of the best surgeons anywhere for this surgery (we used our connections in healthcare to find out who "the guy" was for this). Still, the stress of it all, plus his getting sick from aftereffects of the anesthesia, made for a long day.

We got home around 8:30 tonight. We sat down to relax, and I put on the television. Marc was checking e-mail and his head popped up. He held up a hand, as if to say, "Hang on a second. I want to make sure I'm not imagining this." And then he started pointing at his right ear, practically trembling as tears filled his eyes. And then I started crying with him. He can hear in both ears for the first time in ages!

Now, we're far from done. He has a lot of healing to do, and I sure hope there are no complications but such things could happen so we're not out of the woods yet. Also, there will be swelling that may shut off that new hearing for a bit, and he has to watch his balance for several days. Plus, he has some numbness on part of his tongue, but that's not uncommon for this (pressure on a nerve in the area) and it usually fades and returns to normal.

With all of that said, the usual story is that, even if the surgery is completely successful, hearing doesn't start to return until the healing begins and the swelling goes down. So this was a joyous surprise, and we're both thrilled. This was a hard day, but it had a wonderful ending!