Emily and I were married a long time ago…back when she was young. She had good teeth, clear eyes, and a shiny coat….I checked her out pretty well before signing on the line. As she approaches middle age however, stuff appears to be failing. The week she turned 36, she went to the doctor complaining of being unable to hear out of one ear. The doctor did various tests and discovered that she has otosclerosis . The Cliff-notes version of otosclerosis is that the bones of her middle ear are calcifying and fusing. So far, it is only occurring in one ear but has left her with only 50% of her hearing in that ear.
So the doctor diagnosed her and, trying to reassure her, said, "It’s most commonly diagnosed in middle aged white women who have had children." Oops…not a smart move. Doctors before this one have made the mistake of tangling with this woman. "Excuse me?", she said. That poor man is still stammering…
Anyhow, she was not a candidate for hearing aids since she is losing her hearing so quickly. She had to visit a surgeon to evaluate the possibility of a stapedectomy which is what we are doing today. Basically, if all goes well, Emily will be having a prosthetic middle ear installed today…she’s gonna be bionic! She’ll be ear-resistable!
UPDATE #1 : 12:00 pm – we are in the room and Emily is all buck naked except for the gown they gave her. We have the only room with a window. Unfortunately, the room looks right onto Chapman’s Mortuary…that doesn’t seem too great to Emily.
UPDATE #2 4:45 pm – Emily is back in the room. She went back to the "holding pen" at 1:30 and they did the magic they do back there I guess…I suspect they must have run her through a car wash, just to de-coot-ify her. She made it into the OR at 2:35 and the surgery actually started at 3:00. Around 4:15 the doctor reported to me that all went well and that she has a plastic and nickel piston installed in place of her stapes – a bone of the middle ear. The best thing is that I get a warranty card for her bionics! Anyhow, she is awake and aware and doing fine! She reports that she can in fact hear better already!
So, anyhow, here is a video of what this surgery looks like if you are interested:
If seeing surgery isn’t your thing, check out these dancing monkeys:
If dancing monkeys aren’t your thing, check out this guy dancing:
You really gotta check out this video…seriously!
Prayers for Emily that all goes well. Please update us on how it goes and how well it works!
I’ve lost a lot of hearing in one ear too, I just assumed it was all of the loud music I listened to as a teen and nothing could be done. Now maybe I’ll see a doctor.
Caprilis’s last blog post..Another wonderful weekend
I think a friend of mine had that same surgery a couple of weeks ago. She is doing well.
Hope Emily is hearing a pin drop again soon!
I had never heard of this before and now 2 in a month, and possibly Schmenky?
Capri Kel’s last blog post..This and That
Hope everything goes well for her. My best wishes to Emily.
YDavis’s last blog post..Gardening with Pooch
Good luck with the surgery – hope all goes well!
Kris
Kris Bair’s last blog post..Moving along
I hope the surgery goes well.
I will say as I was reading this I was like “Man, where is he going with this?”
Hope the surgery goes well.
Chiot’s Run’s last blog post..Endless Entertainment
Good Luck Emily!!! And I LOVE Robert Muraine…hmmm…I swear I’ve seen that video somewhere recently…
farm mom’s last blog post..Catharsis
Good Luck Emily, and watch out Warren now she will be able to hear what you are thinking!!!
Oh my goodness! My prayers are with you all today, especially Emily. Keep us updated…I’ll be checking back later!
Evil Twin’s Wife’s last blog post..ETW Recommends -UPDATED
Best wishes for Emily’s speedy recovery, so glad they could help her.
Deb’s last blog post..Young and talented
Emily, are you really sure you want to hear all that Warren has to say? 😉 Never met you but something tells me you have already earned your wings. God Bless Y’all!
Thanks for the well wishes everyone. The surgery went great (although I didn’t get much sleep last night). Warren was a great nurse – although he did make me cook my own supper and then load the dishwasher last night. What’s up with that????
Hope all is continuing to go well and that the surgery was a success. Best wishes to you both. This post proves that Warren can find the humour in anything! Take good care and keep us posted.
Laura-Jane – Whimfield’s last blog post..Dish Washing Tips
Wow! I hope the recovery wasn’t too bad on that! Just thinking about someone tampering with my ear makes me flinch and cringe! Thank goodness for anesthesia. I hope she’s doing well and that the surgery worked!
Lynnie’s last blog post..Families that Plant Together…
Emily’s swelling has apparently kicked in as she couldn’t hear too much this morning out of her one ear. It was expected but still sucks. She slept in the lazy boy somewhat last night though around 3 or so, I woke and she was web surfing…