The doctor that did Micah's ears yesterday said that 5% of all patients that need ear tubes expel them as quickly as Micah does. It has nothing to do with small ear canals, it's just the way things are. The same doctor also called today to see how Micah is doing. I was very impressed with this. We always get post-op phone calls, but they're always from other staff and never from a very busy doctor. Have I mentioned that it's impressive? It is.
The weather today was simply gorgeous. Sam mowed the lawn. I couldn't stop smiling. The sun and the smell of freshly mowed grass and spring all make me happy.
I kept Micah home today because of that thing where he needs time to recover from the ear canal widening. He woke up in a bit of pain and crawled into bed with me after Sam left for work this morning. He then ate 2 eggs, 2 pieces of toast, applesauce and had Ranch dressing on the side because it's a food group that needs to be added to every meal. And then he asked for his narcotics. We've created a monster. I medicated him and then we ran errands. The medication makes him tired, and the boy fights tired like nobody I've ever met. (Seriously. There was that time we were up at 4am to catch a flight, and then drugged him to sleep on the plane, and he fought through All The Tired And The Drugs to fuss loudly, nonstop, for 2 hours solid during the flight. It was a good time had by nobody at all.) So Micah spent the first half of the errand running fighting the tired and fussing about the injustices of yesterday and pretty much decompressing everything all at once. It wasn't pretty. The rest of the day was so much better, aided by Chipotle (it's not hot dog and pop, but beans and rice will do in a pinch). He fussed on and off about his ear this evening and the large blood clot fell out. I'm grateful. There's no way I was going to get that out without sedation, and we don't have things on hand to do that with. Doctors frown upon trying that at home.
Medical tape leaves black residue that doesn't come off. Ever. At all. I tried alcohol, shampoo, eye makeup remover, and good old soap. I soaked him in a bathtub and scrubbed with a washcloth. I think it was the combination of all of the above and the fact that I removed his first layer of skin that finally removed the stuff. For crying out loud. I also, ever-so-gently, dabbed with a dampened Q-tip at the bloody residue around his ear. The house thought I was trying to kill the child, but the tone of the protest told me that he wasn't in any kind of pain, just the fear of impending pain. And then he was so ridiculously proud of his clean ear that he had to show everyone in the family. It's the little things.
The ear pain subsided enough to allow Micah to explore a bit. He discovered the one solitary stitch where the cartilage was harvested to make a grommet with, and rubs at the hairy ends of that stitch like a good luck charm. It's a disolvable stitch, but I'm wondering how long it's going to stay in with those kind of shenanigans. Also, thank goodness for no pain there.
Both Micah and I are going to be home again tomorrow, just in case he has another melt down. Or needs narcotics. Or just needs to rest. But Thursday is looking good to return to school for the both of us. Fingers crossed that stitches don't accidentally get pulled out or anything weird like that. And that teachers don't fuss about things like the bloodied mess behind his ear and inside his ear that I just can't/won't clean up because of incisions and stitches and things like that.
I'll refrain from showing you a picture of his bloody ear, which he insisted on me taking every 3 hours all day long. He's a weird child, Micah is.
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