Samantha's Ear Surgery

Samantha went to see the Dr. in June because she was feeling like her ears were really plugged.  She has a tendancy to produce an extra amount of ear wax so she has had her ears irrigated a few times to get them cleaned out.  Unfortunately, when she had it done this time the Dr. perforated her eardrum.  He said it would take a little time but it would heal and wouldn't be a problem.  I took her to see the ENT Specialist and he told us the same thing so we just played the waiting game.  She had it checked a couple of times every now and then and the Dr.'s could still see the hole but said to give it some more time.  Eventually, they could see that it was not going to heal on it's own and so I took her to see a Specialist that only deals with ears.  His recommendation was for her to have surgery to repair it because if she didn't she would lose her hearing in that ear permanately.  The surgery (left postauricular temporalis underlay tympanaplasty / meatoplasty with meatal stent) was scheduled during her Fall Break to allow her a couple of days to recooperate.  We were told that although there are a lot of risks associated with the surgery, it generally goes really well and patients feel well enough in a few days.  Not the case with Samantha - It was awful!  She was miserable and her ear looked horrible.  When I took the bandages off after the first day, it was all I could do to hold it together.  I wanted to throw up, I wanted to scream, I wanted to cry - I hurt so much for her and hated seeing her so uncomfortable and in so much pain.  It was rough - and it was rough for much longer than a few days but on the positive side she seems to be healing nicely.  Oh - she'll have a scar, but as time goes by it is looking better and better and her hearing is coming back as well and we are so grateful for that. I'm so thankful that Samantha has stayed strong and even when she felt so horrible she was able to keep up with her schooling and her job.  She has been AMAZING!