Recovery Milestone

I had hit a milestone late yesterday when I had the zombie head bandages and stiches removed. It was such a relief to have this heavy, scratchy thing gone. I decided not to save it (even though Annelise had decorated with My Little Kitty band aids and In and Out burger stickers), or to burn it. My recovery is past the worst stage, and the healing is going well. Besides my battle with Vicodin (not a fan of giving in, but finally was made to realize when you head it cut open, you need a pain killers or you will suffer very badly!!!), the process has been smooth. I feel blessed the doctors were so skillfull and medicine has come so far - I'm glad to be free of the non-friendly growth called a cholesteatoma that had taken over my inner ear before it inhabits any other unwelcome places. All that is noticeable now is a swollen ear (have to be careful with the comb!), back of my head, behind the ear is totally numb (whatever, no impact here), a black eye (they got a little rough in the operating room!), and oh, I can't hear out of that ear (not that major since I can hear out of my right ear perfectly + this is temporary until the next surgery in 6-9 months). I'm very thankful for all the thoughtful friends for their food, flowers, emails, calls, and positive vibes. And, I feel blessed to have such a strong and supportive family. My sister in-law was like an angel completely taking charge on surgery day when my husband unexpectedly got the flu. My husband has been awesome, and very patient taking care of me so carefully. My in-laws almost adopted our kids for the first week, and now my mom has been staying to help. The

kids have been very understanding, and kept too busy to be affected.