Shelby's Life and Whatnot

I Told You It Hurt

At about 4 am this morning as I lay awake with my throbbing ear, I decided to take myself to the doctor when it got light. Every time I rested on that side of my head I got that creepy tingly sensation you get when something is draining out of your ear. I thought oh, maybe my infection is draining. Nope, it was blood.

I still can't hear a thing and am driving myself and everyone around me crazy with my "I can't hear you"s. Luckily my left ear is still pretty clear or I'd be a basket case.

We headed to the local urgent care center and I braced myself for the worst news. The doctor came in and took a look and I asked "did I rupture my eardrum?" and he said "No, but this baby could blow any minute now." So, um, I think that's good news. Sort of. He went on to explain that not only did I have an inner and middle ear infection (which he described as "nasty"), but the ear canal itself was also infected, which was causing the bleeding. So in addition to oral antibiotics for the inner/middle ear, I also have antibiotic drops for the outer canal. The good news is that he thought the antibiotics would kick in pretty quickly to relieve the pain and pressure and hopefully my hearing will come back soon.

The doctor also seemed really interested in my sleep apnea surgery. The conversation went like this:

(peering into throat) "You've had your uvula removed."
"Yes."
"And your tonsils and adenoids too. Why?"
"Sleep apnea"
"Really?"
"Yeah. I had my tongue and chin done as well."
"Really?"
"Yeah"
"Where did you get that done?"
"Stanford"
"Really?"
"Yeah"
"Did it help?"
"Oh yeah, cleared it right up"
"Did you snore a lot?"
"Yes, but not really anymore."
"Really?"
"Yeah"

and it went on in that vein. With my litany of problems, I really am a medical oddity. After the sleep apnea discussion I wasn't about to bring up the story of how my heart condition came about.

Really?
Yeah.