Family Outing!

Yesterday I made it out! Out with Tim and the kids! Went to eat at the lovely and awesome Bagelry and then headed across the street to a little Christmas Festival on the square type thing. The kids got to see Santa. They got their faces painted, made crafts, and we all went on a carriage ride around town. I was fairly steady throughout the whole thing which ended up being a few hours long. The weather was beautiful and the kids had a blast. I was really tired this morning but I'm not dizzy like after my last little adventure. Hopefully, that's a sign of progress. My ear is still making this popping/cracking noise. The tube is no longer clogged-found that out when the hydrogen peroxide I put in it ran down my throat...so lovely. But hey, that's good news. Should mean when I go back to the doc that he won't have to do much roto-rootering around in there. This week brings Thanksgiving and lots of activity. Should be interesting to see how it all goes.

In the meantime, I'm accepting the little victory of spending some time with the kids and trying to be positive.

Checkin' in with the doc

Had my follow up appointment today. I must admit to tiring of the trip back and forth to Winston. But if it has to be done, so be it. Good news is I'm healing well despite the fact it looks like somebody sucker punched me behind my ear. Only problem is my eardrum tube is clogged with dried blood. Mmmmm, so nice to visualize I know. Dr. May pulled out a large chunk of something while I was there but couldn't get this clot out without pulling out the whole tube. And for those of you fortunate enough not to have experienced that, it hurts like hell. I know because a year or so ago, he had to pull it out and replace it and he did it without any numbing medicine. Holy moly...is the nicest way I can put that. So I now have to try putting drops of hydrogen peroxide in several times a day and see if it will help soften the clot and get it to come out. While all of that may be annoying, it's definitely tolerable. What scares me is that the machine I use called the Meniett which has kept me vertigo free for 4 years is useless right now. I can't use it for a couple more weeks. I've never been so long without it and I have no idea how I'm going to react. On the one hand, the wonderful new shunt should help out a great deal. On the other, any other time my Meniett has not worked properly (usually due to the tube coming out of my ear), I have had a bad vertigo attack. I'm scared. True vertigo is the worst feeling on Earth. I would endure almost anything else to avoid an attack, including yanking tubes out of my ear without pain medication! Even childbirth with no epidural-yes, I've done that too!! Not by choice mind you. Let's just say, my cervix is all business when it comes to babies.
Positive thoughts. Positive thoughts. Positive thoughts. That's what my doctor kept telling me. He's absolutely right. I'll get there, maybe...having a lot of trouble reaching that point today.
Nevertheless that's the status report. This is now 6 days post-op. I go back to work on Nov. 30 and back to the doc on Dec. 1. I am to slowly increase my activity between now and then so we have an idea if work is even a possibility. I am worn out from today-trip to Winston, a lovely stop at Barnes and Noble-2 new books, yay!, stop at Lowe's to buy a new stove to replace the one that caught on fire the other day-yes, on fire and not from food, and then to pick up the kids from school. I shall spend the rest of the evening putting drops in my ear and trying not to worry.