A New Ear Drum for Christmas

Tomorrow, Finn is getting a new ear drum.  I am both excited about what this could mean for his right ear and a nervous wreck.

We have to be at the hospital at 5:15am which means we will have to get Finn up around 4am to start pre-operating procedures including a bath in a prescription antibacterial soap.

Essentially, they are going to take cartilage from behind Finn's ear and make a new ear drum, remove any more tumor(s) that are in the ear, and repair the hearing bones.  All in all, the surgery will take about 1 1/2 to 2 hours.  We expect to leave the hospital the same day and the first stage recovery will take about 2 weeks and then full recovery in about 4 months.  The hardest part for Finn will probably be the no swimming for four months, not even with an ear plug.  

We knew this surgery was coming, but we thought it was going to happen in another couple of years when he at least had one good ear, but the chance of him having another tumor is a risk the doctor doesn't want to take and therefore the surgery is happening tomorrow. 

Finn has been put to sleep at least ten times now and as a mother it doesn't get any easier. Yesterday, I tried to explain in the simplest terms to Finn that he is going to go to sleep and wake up with a big bandage over his ear.  The doctors are going to fix his ear drum and it may be a little scary.  He smiled at me the entire time and said "yeah" each time I paused.  I know he doesn't quite understand and that makes it a little more difficult as a parent.

We do feel very lucky that most of Finn's major issues have resolved on their own or have not yet required surgery like his heart defects and brain abnormalities. 

Please keep Finn in your thoughts and prayers that he has a successful surgery, is comfortable and a speedy recovery.