I have the rather dubious distinction of having inherited from my ancestors a genetic disorder called otosclerosis. My mother has it, my grandfather has it, and his mother and grandmother had it too - and perhaps it goes back even further than that. Instead of re-forming properly, the bones in the middle ear make a sort of spongy tissue which eventually hardens as years pass. This stiffens the bones - particularly the stapes bone - and reduces their ability to conduct sound into the inner ear. The result is a loss of hearing that gradually gets worse; in my case, the hearing loss had become very severe (just ask my family). Fortunately, an operation has been developed which, in most cases, restores hearing completely. In the procedure, the stapes bone is removed and a prothesis is put in its place. The operation has a very high success rate (over 97%), with very few risks, and, as the surgeon said, I didn’t have much to lose. My hearing was about as bad as it gets with otosclerosis.

My operation was scheduled for Wednesday, August 27, 2008. The week before this date was one of the most nerve-racking I’ve spent. Not only did I have four young children to prepare to be without their mother for a couple of days (for the first time in their young lives), but I had to face the fact that surgery always has risks. The anaesthetist assured me that the risk of dying from anaesthetic complications is far lower than the risk of dying in an accident while driving from my home to his office, but the thought was still there in my mind. What bothered me most was that I knew that if I should die on the operating table, I would not be ready for heaven, and no matter how much time I spent “preparing” for the possibility, I still wouldn’t be ready. In the end I just gave my life to God, realizing that I could offer Him nothing, and I simply relied on Him for forgiveness and strength. I spent a lot of time in prayer, asking for courage and preparedness for whatever might happened.

By the time the day of the operation had arrived, I was much calmer, and I felt God by my side. My family and friends were all praying for me, and it was wonderful to know that I was covered by a blanket of prayer. I knew I could trust in God to work everything out in the way that He knew best, and that He would guide the hands of the skilled surgeon as he worked on my ear.

And oh, the joy as I woke from the operation and could hear the nurses gossiping in the recovery room! Sounds were unbelievably loud in the repaired ear, and there would be even more improvement in the days to come. Unfortunately, I had quite a bad reaction to the operation; the fluids in my ear took a while to settle down, and I suffered from severe dizziness and vomiting whenever I tried to get up. The medical staff at the hospital were wonderful, and I couldn’t have received better care. Nevertheless, it was two days before I could get up without vomiting. I would just lie as still as I possibly could to avoid any dizzying movement, and I prayed to God to please get me through this, as He has got me through so many things in the past.

By Friday, I was able to pull my Bible out of my bag for the first time. The reading for the day was from 2 Corinthians chapter one, and two of the verses go like this: “Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God” (verses 3, 4).

I was allowed home on Sabbath morning. My mother came to take me home while my husband took our children to church. When they came home from church, and I heard the voices of my family again, I nearly wept. Otosclerosis narrows the range of audible frequencies, and now for the first time I could hear the full range of my children’s voices. As the day went on, I realized that I could also hear the rain on the roof, the breathing of my sleeping boy beside me, and the dog barking at night (okay, maybe that last one isn’t so much of a good thing, but it was still a novelty).

That was just the beginning. Every day I hear new things, and each discovery is as exciting as the last. I can hear around doors, I can hear through windows, and I can hear whispers. Before, I could never understand how a blind person can avoid obstacles while walking through a room, simply by listening to echoes, but now I can hear the echoes - and that is only with one ear repaired. I almost can’t wait to get the other one fixed.

One day, if we are faithful, we will go to heaven, and I think I have experienced a foretaste of the joy we will feel to be home at last. Hearing things that I haven’t heard for years is such a blessed and new experience, but what about the delight we will feel in a world where there will be no pain, no sorrow, no tears, and no death? Everything will be new, and, most blessed of all, Jesus will be there, the One who gave up so much for us!

My experience made me realize just how ready I have to be. Ready for Jesus to come, ready for heaven if it so happens that my life on this earth is shorter than I expect. I only had a week to prepare for my operation, and I don’t know how much longer I have to prepare for heaven. But I’m giving my life to God anew every day and trusting in Him to finish the good work He has started in me. These words from the grand old hymn “Rock of Ages” have always been precious to me and are even more dear to me now:

“Nothing in my hand I bring,

Simply to thy cross I cling;

Naked, come to Thee for dress;

Helpless, look to Thee for grace;

Foul, I to the fountain fly;

Wash me, Saviour, or I die.”

- Augustus M. Toplady