Dan and I are in the midst of trying to process the information we just received. Elijah did great during surgery, but we received a punch in our guts when we learned what Dr. L found inside his left ear. The footplate that was intact and healthy last March has been somehow broken in half (perhaps due to mass growth) at some point during the last few months. What does this mean? Elijah is completely deaf in that ear with little chance of ever having hearing restored. We will need to repeat today's surgery in 6 months and it would be a big concern if there was another round of cholesteatoma regrowth at that point. In the meantime, there IS something we can do to help the sound travel through his skull on the deaf side which will help things not to feel so weird for him (called a bone conductive aid). We will explore this avenue if his hearing test a month from now confirms total deafness. Dr. L said that in all his years of being an ENT, he has never come across this scenario.
There's a chance Elijah will experience dizziness and vomiting when he wakes up. If this is the case, we will spend the night here. If he feels fine, we will head home.
I feel so sad for our boy right now. With everything he has endured, it is hard for me to grasp this. Thank you all for your prayers.
1 comment:
oh i'm so sorry to read this! i know things will work out, but that is hard news to bear and i just feel for E and your family. too much sometimes. god bless
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