The Results Are In...It's a Potato

Sheesh. Eva and her nonsense blog titles. 

Look at all that shameless sensationalism just to get people's attention! 

That's terrible! 

Who would fall for that? 

Soooo...how ya been.... 

Yep. Just went there. 

No shame in this game. 

Ok. Done for now. 

Yes, welcome to the nonsense drivel I like to call home. 

Is she gonna keep talking in 3rd person?!?

I feel like a poor man's Jim Gaffigan impression. 

Now that you're here, I may as well give you an update on Zane! :) 

Little man and I trekked up to our home-away-from-home today for his 10 day post-op visit. I'm fading fast tonight so I'll be short and to the point (which I realize is ridiculous, given my opening paragraph...) Dr. Owen cut all of the stitches that were anchoring the pink molds at the back of both ears to his head. Of all things, this has once again, been the preverbal last straw for Z. Weeping, wailing, gnashing of teeth and all. HOWEVER, happiness abounded once they were all removed. 

Overall, Zane got a very good report today. There's still a good bit of swelling, which is why I referred back to that original visual from Dr. Owen..."The ear will look like a potato for a while...then it'll shrink-wrap down to size!" For real. It's in the notes. SO, like I said, results are in...it's a potato! 

The new lobe and tragus will take more shape once that shrinking down occurs. The skin grafts are healing very nicely...bonus! Both ears look a little rough behind the ears where Dr. Owen added some extra skin to boost up the ears, but they're doing great!  Zane will continue to wear the Glascock dressing to bed in order to give that ear some bonus healing time without getting smashed! We then will go back for another follow up in 3-4 weeks, at which time he will get a new set of pink molds that will operate much like a retainers and will be worn at night to keep strengthening the shape of the ears. 

Couple HUGE answers to prayer:

Zane doesn't have to wear the "cone" to school anymore

Surgeries were very successful in every aspect

The big DOUBLE DIGIT bday swim shindig is a go next month

Things to continue to pray for:

Zane still has to stay inside for recess for at least another week. He's pretty bummed

Decreased swelling

Conversations to be had about the failed inner ear surgery

Adequate wound care all over both ears

Ok. That's it. Go home. Nothing to see here. Well, we all know that's not true. There's ALWAYS something to see here, but it may be best to just look away... :) Believe it or not, it's my surgical turn tomorrow! :/ Will update will I'm able, but it's super minor!!! 

Thanks again so much for continuing to pray for this sweet boy. And his dad. I hear he's an emotional mess! :) 

Update #2...Post #3...Still With Me?!?

First night post-op went as well as it possibly could have, the patient has downed a couple bowls of cereal, and the pain meds are flowing, so it's time for an update!!!

After a long 8 hours of surgery, Dr. Owen came in to give us the final report about our brave little man. 

Everything went as planned, plastics-wise. He was able to borrow the cartilage from the left ear to deal with the right lobe and tragus. He also beefed up both ears with additional skin grafts from the groin (roughly hip to belly button...yikers...but last time, it was hip-to-hip so trying to stay positive) behind both ears after cutting through that tethered skin. He has the pink foam stitched to his head, behind both ears, and the Glascock dressing (large plastic bubble on an elastic strap) covering his right ear. He'll have to wear this contraption for 2 weeks until we go back for the post-op on the 28th. 

Unfortunately, he was not able to do the electrolysis on the right ear because he didn't want to risk any negative side affects on the Med Por ear while it's still healing from the new lobe, tragus, and untethering. He also wants to wait so Zane is the "least-tan" possible so the process will work most effectively. (Side note: Zane is tan...like super dark tan...so this will be in the dead of winter. My fave.)

Of course, please pray for the obvious needs of healing and pain management. Once again, that pesky skin graft is the biggest offender. But there are some additional issues that could use some prayer. When the bandages come off, and Zane sees that the hairy patch isn't gone, he's going to be pretty bummed. We will prepare him, naturally, but reality tends to smack you in the face. Secondly, because he doesn't miss anything...like, ever...Zane was well-aware that Dr. Hansen fully expected him to be able to hear through the right ear post-surgery. Before bed last night, he put his finger in his left ear and excitedly said to Peyton, "Say something to me!!" When he couldn't hear from the right, there was obvious disappointment. We haven't broke the news that Hansen wasn't able to fix the hearing bone. Even though he rarely spoke about it, he was definitely hoping for the same result we all were. So we just told him that it was too early to hear and that we'd talk about it in a couple weeks. He's also pretty discouraged that he will once again have to start the school year with the "cone" and all the activity restrictions, and my promise to discuss things with the school/teachers aren't doing much to encourage him. So please pray for his heart and attitude with all these things, in addition to the healing/recovery.

Thanks so much for all your love and compassion, sweet friends. We are so thankful for each one of you! 

...and the results of surgery #7 are in...partially

When we checked in this morning, we were told the surgery was scheduled for a 6-hour time slot. "Shocked," I tell you...that was my reaction, since that was news to me and seemed extra long for the "simple procedures" planned. Then I switched to "happily surprised" when the docs said they only expected it to be actually around 3-4 hours...6 hours would be EXTREME. Now...we'll just go with "false amazement"...since we're now WAY past that wacky 6-hour mark. 

*please forgive the excessive amount of quotation marks*

*can't seem to just give straightforward information*

*why do I try to explain these things*

Anywhoooo, we do have some information on the first part of the surgery so I thought I'd go ahead and get moving on it.

While I was out shopping with the man-child for his upcoming college move-in date (we're fine. I'm fine. everything's fine), Dr. Hansen came in to update the hubs. I'll do my best to relay that info accurately. 

When they began exploring behind the ear drum, they discovered 2 bones that weren't "normal" but were working fine. The 3rd bone, the stapes, is fixed...the bones have to vibrate to conduct sound. The only thing to do for this is a stapedectomy, which will basically bypass the non-working bone. Unfortunately, this can only be done by going through the inner ear, which has some increased risk. 1 in 100 could experience complete hearing loss in that ear, with no future options available. He recommended waiting until Zane was between 12-14 yrs. to move forward. This is primarily due to two factors: our wild man would have to be motionless...MOTIONLESS...for several days...SEVERAL DAYS. You feel me? Also, due to the possible risk, Zane himself would have some input and need to understand the complications. For now, though, he would actually be able to be fitted for a "normal" hearing aid (not the surgical implant) and would, most likely, benefit from that tremendously because he does have some hearing in that new ear. 

No news yet on the countdown/anesthesia bet. I should be ashamed. But alas, I'm just hoping for that $10.

SO...bummer...it's not what we'd been hoping and praying for, but we are grateful to know exactly what we're dealing with and that there are still possibilities to explore in years to come. For now, we will let him recover from surgery and then set up that fitting for an in-ear hearing aid...which I'm reminding myself again...is a miracle all in itself. 

Time for the Second (well, technically the third, but who's counting) Go-Round in the Saga of Zane

Once again, here's the Mother-of-the-Year reporting in for duty! You'll be impressed to know that writing an update about Zane's surgery as been on my to-do list since...well, since last August. Wow. I even impress myself! :/

The good news is that I'll save you the mindless rambling that usually par-for-the-course in Eva World and get to the point! Hold it together, people.

The short version of this infamous saga is that Zane had an overall great year recovery-wise, and only ever heard, "Things are looking good," every time we went in for check-ups. That whole "no news is good news" really held up this past year. The ear continued to shrink down as it should, there were no more extrusions, and the ear canal held up beautifully. Having said that, there were some "setbacks," or things that didn't quite turn out as we'd hoped. One of the most obvious things is that the ears aren't the same height on Zane's head...it's not a huge deal (especially when his hair is longer) because, let's be honest, HE HAS AN EAR NOW WHERE THERE WAS NONE! I try to remind myself of that when I catch myself wishing they'd been able to match those up better. In case you have forgotten, we knew going in that the ears wouldn't be the same height because they needed to use the tissue/blood supply from his old ear, formally and affectionately known as the "nub." :) But again, I'm greedy and find myself wishing for things that don't really matter!

There were some issues that we could address, however, and that's what we're doing now. Today...right now...as we speak...my bad. 

The new ear lobe didn't quite work out as they'd hoped. It just didn't "shrink up" or form as it should have. Secondly, Dr. Owen deliberately hadn't created a tragus on the new ear, knowing he'd add it later once we saw how Zane's ear would respond. Next, the skin graft from behind his left ear continued to grow hair and, since it's on the front side of his new ear, we want to deal with that for Z, if possible. Another issue is where they stitched up that skin graft/left ear area, it didn't "pop back out" as anticipated...so it looks like he traded one ear for the another since his left ear was basically "pinned back." 

On another note, Dr. Hansen has been assessing the inner ear/canal for the past year and said it just couldn't look better! On paper, he should be hearing fully by now. So he determined it must be an issue with the hearing bones themselves. 

Still with me?!? Maybe covering a full year of Zane in one blog post was a bit much...yet here we are. Again...my bad. So once again, my favorite little man is under the knife, as we speak. We'd hoped to have this surgery and subsequent recovery over and done with before the start of the new school year, but that wasn't meant to be. So he will start another school year with the beloved pink foam and plastic bubble head wrap. 

*insert profound sarcasm and disgust face* 

The plan is simple...at least from the perspective of the medical team. It's pretty profound to the likes of most of us...ok maybe just me. 

Dr. Owen will borrow cartilage from the left ear to fix the right ear lobe and create the tragus. He will take more skin grafts from the groin area to cover the new areas...just adding to that impressive scar he got the last time. He will do electrolosist on the hairy patch, and he'll untether that left ear. Dr. Hansen will open up the ear drum and scope out the situation with those 3 bones to see what's to be done. It could be any number of issues that they might discover once inside. one or multiple bones might be missing, they might be there but are fractured, or they may simply be misplaced. If it's any of those issues, they'll fix it...and the final result will be Zane will be hearing surround sound before you know it!!! WOW...how incredible would that be?!? So basically...NBD, as the kids say.
 Funny story...Dr. Hansen encouraged Zane to make a bet with the anesthesiologist..."bet you $10 that I can count to 10 before you get me to sleep!"...and then told him to count super fast. So he did. And the dude took him up on it. Couple things to note: Zane has been training. Working his game. Putting in the time. This is the big time. And let me tell you, if Mr Doctor Man doesn't pay up, they're gonna have one unhappy little patient. Or, I should say, Dr. Hansen will be the one paying up. Because I can assure you, SOMEONE will be paying up. 

We will be updating (for real...relax) once he's out of surgery. Stay tuned and once again, we are so very thankful for your prayers!

The Pressure is Great. His Grip is Greater

Sharing an old analogy that seems to have struck a chord with so many that continued to feel stretched beyond their capacity. I hope and pray that it encourages you today!

It hit me like a ton of bricks that my life was kind of like a balloon...not the small kind that would kill an asthmatic...but the really stretchy kind...the kind that is able to be shaped into all sorts of exciting things. I began to think of God as the ultimate balloon artist, so to speak. He is very familiar with the balloon...knows just how much air it can hold...knows just how to hold it so it won't accidentally pop...is able to twist and form the balloon into anything he chooses...even when it doesn't make sense what he's doing with all the initial twists and shaping, it always turns out just the way he designed it to be...so cool. 

So God takes this flimsy balloon, and he stretches it this way and that, to make sure it's ready to withstand the pressure He's about to insert. This isn't comfortable for the balloon, but it's necessary for sustained growth. Then He begins to blow...lightly at first...just a little air...a picture of a little girl who needs a family. It's ever so small a wind, but even then the balloon is unsure about what's happening. Another child...a boy...the cheeks fill with His sweet breath, and He blows again. It feels like it's too much, yet the force is strong...the grip on the neck of the balloon feels steady. 

As months go by, more air is added to the balloon...slowly...sometimes it feels as though no expansion is happening at all...sometimes it feels as though the artist is releasing some of that precious air, one burst at a time. Months of agonizing paperwork...He continues to blow...it feels as though it's too much air...but He knows there's way more possibilities for this balloon...He knows this balloon.  

He draws hard from the lungs and blows...emails and calls say she won't survive the winter...it's going to break! Stop!!! Don't blow it up anymore! What good is a broken balloon?!? But the artist knows...even when it seems like it will burst from the pressure, this balloon can stretch much further...and it must, in order to be the exact creation He's got planned. He wets his lip and gives the balloon several short bursts of air in a row...phone call comes announcing a travel date, room-remodel isn't complete, my own needed-surgery postponed...and still he blows. 

The balloon is shocked that it's not breaking...it feels like it's breaking...it feels like it might give way any minute...but the artist is holding tight so no air escapes. As He blows long and deep, the expansion continues...she's too sick...you can't take them home...we think she had a heart attack...must get out sooner...blow, blow, blow...The walls of the balloon are taunt...stretched any further, it surely will explode. Who could blame it...how much can one balloon take? Yet, it doesn't break...the artist designed it to withstand great pressure...as long as it's safely held in His hands.  A lost hope, a grim reality, a futile attempt to blow itself up or to simply give up all together. And yet, He blows. 

Doesn't He realize the balloon will burst at any second??? He must see that, but He seems to understand something the balloon doesn't. He saw the end result...even before He breathed that first breath. He knows exactly what He wants this balloon to look like...even when it's so confusing to the balloon itself. Every time the balloon relaxes itself in the artist hands, something beautiful and amazing happens. It's nothing like what the balloon thought it would be...it's so much better...so, so much better. At times, it really feels like it might break...any extra pressure might send the balloon flying from the artist's hand, all the air escaping as it flies aimlessly around the room...until it finally lands, completely void of any air at all. 

The pressure is great...His grip is greater. And the balloon expands, taking in the sweet air of the Creator...even though the stretching and expanding is uncomfortable, the artist knows exactly what to do to make the balloon be all He designed it to be. 

After a tremendous burst of breath, He ties it off...knowing that the shaping and structuring of the balloon is key...with each twist and turn, the balloon is really questioning this whole design thing...surely she could easily make a quick shape that would be just as good as the artist. But with the flash of His hand and a passion in His eye, He begins to shape the balloon to the image He'd had planned all along...never forcing the balloon to take the shape of His design...but continually guiding and shaping as the balloon submits to His skilled and graceful hands. 

I'm a balloon...apparently I'm still expanding. May I be grateful to be in the hands of the master designer because He knows, above all else, how much pressure this balloon can stand...and what He'll do with this balloon once the pressure is complete. What a day that will be!

The Patch Job

Thank you all so much for being gracious and patient as you waited to hear how things went on Thursday! It was a very long day again, then I was finally back to work on Friday, and Saturdays usually like to sit around at laugh at the girl who thinks she's going to get everything done on her list. 

So...yea...it's Sunday for 5 more minutes so I'm counting it as a respectable response time. 

That sounded better in my head.

Although it was nothing compared to the 15 hour surgery, we still had quite a bit longer wait than we'd hoped. We went in planning for 3 hours...it ended up being about 6, start-to-finish. However, we have great news to report...and even more pretty cool pictures to share some time. (That'll be like in 5-10 years when we're all just sitting around the fire, throwing back some smores, and talking about the good ol' days. For right now...don't ask.)

We had some different options presented to us when we arrived for "Take 2." The resident said they'd be going in, removing the sections of the implant that had pushed through, and attempting to recover them with a new flap for improved blood supply and additional skin grafts, if necessary. I say sections, plural, because 2 more popped through just on the drive up to the city. 

Please tell me someone else was in tears just reading that. Because I was...in tears, I mean...when I saw them peaking through. For the love. Once again, we find weak old Eva...WAAAAAY out of the realm of "we can handle this," and she's replaced with some chica who just nods her head and acts like this is all chill and stuff. 

Chill girl says, "So what if that doesn't work?" Resident looks as though he's surprised that chill girl has asked a follow-up question, yet he responses with...

"Well, if that doesn't seem like it will be enough, we may have to remove the implant and replace it with another one..." (looks from parent-to-parent and continues, probably so he can get out of there as soon as possible...)

"...and if THAT doesn't work, we may have to remove the implant altogether and...

Start. From. Square. One."

That was the moment chill girl...who wasn't actually chill, mind you...should've been nominated for an Oscar. 

I actually couldn't begin to tell you much of what was said after that point. Just that we nodded and said something to the effect that we'd be getting everyone to pray that option one would suffice. Duh. 

So that's what we did...sent word to family what was going down, and people starting praying. 

When it was all said and done, the surgeon met with us and let us know that the best case scenario had happened! He was able to take a flap from behind the ear to provide generous blood supply and then take an additional, yet small, in comparison, skin graft adjoined to the previously healed ones and recover the lower portion of the implant.

He also checked the inner ear, for good measure, and found that the ear canal was holding, for the most part. He did add some packing back in there to provide more support. He also recovered the new ear with the pink molding, with instructions to do nothing for a couple weeks. 

Incidentally, he also had to shave a portion of that side of Zane's head again. Zane is none-too-thrilled. If he'd just agree to a mohawk, everything would be fine! But NOOOOOO he has this party-on-the-side, skin-head-on-the-other-side thing going on. That is a battle we will fight another day. Or never. Because I'm just tired. 

We were able to head home after waiting for Zane to finish bossing the nurses around and demanding noodles...

"Are you ok, Zane?" No.
"Are you in pain, Zane?" Yes.
"Where?" Nowhere.
"Can I get you anything?" Yes. 

"What's that?" Noodles. 

And on and on...back and forth...sideways and...whatever...you get the point.

So the happy couple (sounds better than the exhausted couple at their wits end) journeyed on with their patient. 

Headed home, you say? 

Nay, verily.

Olive Garden. To get the boy his noodles. 

And the boy and his noodles lived happily ever after.

The End.

Wait...that's not exactly how that went down...but pretty close. If you're wondering what you pray for at this point, it would be that the whole kit and caboodle does what it's supposed to do...that we don't have to continue with additional patch jobs...that the ear will heal quickly and well...and that the main character in this story will not lose his ever-living mind as his recovery time grows.

In all seriousness, Zane is really struggling with attitude more than anything. He's frustrated and aggravated about the whole deal and just wants to get back to normal. Every now and then, he'll say things like, "I wish I didn't have this surgery." He will be grateful one day, but that day isn't today...or tomorrow...might not be for awhile...so please pray for endurance and patience as well as the healing. 

We will keep you posted once the new bandages come off sometime next week. Thanks so much for the continued prayers and encouragement. 

The Saga Continues...

Buckle up, friends. All hands in the moving vehicle at all times. No, for real...hang on tight. We're in for another bumpy ride.

Unfortunately, we had a significant bump in the road to recovery today. As we mentioned before, Zane has been feeling great! No pain meds for quite some time now, great updates at the post-op appointments, and an overall sense that all was going according to plan. And that was exactly what was happening...until today.

The major complication we'd been praying against became obvious this morning. The Med Por ear "popped through" the skin graft. As I was applying his morning ointment and drops, I noticed a visibly white piece of hard material. After talking with Landry...who's been in charge of all that while Chris and I were away...the scab over that part of the new ear just fell away last night. So the scab had either been covering up the extrusion, or it actually happened sometime during the night.  

I immediately called the hospital to see if they'd want us to come in before our next scheduled post-op next Tuesday. The nurse asked me to take some pictures and send her a quick email. Within a few minutes, the surgeon was calling me. I was right...the new ear had indeed popped through the skin. He wasn't surprised about the location of the extrusion as this was the area at the bottom of the flap that wouldn't have had as much blood supply as the rest of the ear. He talked some more to his staff and then called me back to say he wanted us back up at the hospital tomorrow...for a second surgery to repair the issue. He's planning to use some more skin behind the new ear to pull over and cover the Med Por. He's also hoping that because we're catching it very early, the new skin graft will hold. 

His major initial concern is a high risk for injection at the extrusion site. He called in some more antibiotics, oral and topical, to fight against that.

So...here we go...this time we're looking at roughly a 3 hour surgery and sleeping in our own beds when it's all said and done. I hope he's right! Compared to the 15 hour surgery and the overnight chaos, we'll take it! :) 

Once again, we are so thankful for each and every one of you and all the prayers offered on our behalf.