Oliver was eventually taken in for surgery at 2pm. Poor boy had not eaten since 9pm the previous evening. Lucky for Paul, he had taken lunch with him. We arranged to swap over at 3.30, as this should be half way through the operation.
We did the swap, and Paul took the boys home leaving me as the only person in the waiting area, along with the 2 receptionist. I took my lap top so was able to do some Uni work. About 5.45, one of the nurses from the recovery area came out, and asked me to come through, as it shouldn't be long.
Oliver's doctor eventually appeared about 6.45. Another epically long operation, over 4 hours. Dr Alexander explained that when they opened him up, they had found a small amout of cholesteatoma hiding by the ear drum, in a place they could not see using the camera. It was really small, like a couple of millimeters. But the fact it had grown back made the doctor chose not to reconstruct the ear bones (it was a hard decision, apparently). He worried that if he had reconstructed the ear bones using the titanium plates that the cholesteatoma would have come back again, leading to a much more complicated operation to remove. It would basically involve removing the wall of the ear candle next to the mastoid bone, and would leave Oliver with a large ear cavity, and issues with water getting to the inner ear for the rest of his life. Having since looked this up, it is not nice. It has cosmetic and auditory implications forever. In 60% of cases, after the first removal, cholesteatoma does grow back, but because it is being checked for, not to the same extent.
The doctor also fitted a tube from his ear canal to his nose cavity to enable fluid to drain more easily. He found dried blood in the ear cavity from the last operation, which would not have helped the healing process. He also took some cartridge from his ear and put it at the base of the ear canal for the prosthetic to be fitted to next time round
The doctor is confident he got it all this time. Oliver has a follow up in 10 days time, and returns to school in 9. He is not to do any P.E or recess for 2 weeks. And no water in the ear till the follow up at least. Again every one was really nice, we came away with 4 prescriptions. One anti-nausea, one antibiotic, one very strong pain killer and one for ear drops. The ear drops begin in a few days time, everything else being administered now.
The nurses were interesting this time. 2 men, both skin heads, one lean, one not so lean. They were keen to get him moving, unlike the ladies last time. We were out in just over an hour. And Oliver was not sick in the car. He saved that one for when we got home.
Last night was very unsettled. Oliver slept on the sofa, then we moved his bed into our room (thank good ness for big houses). He was sick a lot last night, and barely kept any water or medication down. He had some toast to morning, and has been snacking ever since. He is currently on the sofa where he has been most of the day. He is in quite a bit of pain, despite the medication, so we are doing our best to keep him comfortable. The next few days will be very lazy, but I managed to get the other 2 out today.
Isaac and I hit up a community yard sale near by. We spent $12 and came away with a toys dragon, Jenga, 2 books, 3 car magazines, a Clemson baseball cap, and 2 sets of Melissa and Doug wooden toys. A pretty good haul. Then we went and checked out Simpsonville Farmers Market. A lovely little market, where I picked up some spicy hot habanero chilli peppers for Paul. Watch this space for what I do with them!
Sebastian went for a hair cut this afternoon. She didn't do a great job, but I had a coupon so it only cost $10 with tip. Makes a nice change from the fortune I normally spend on him at specialized children's salons.
I will keep you posted with Oliver's progress as the week goes on. Don't think there will be many photos on #yearofoliver for a few days......
Poor guy! Good news that they think they got it all, wishing a speedy recovery.. x
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