Surgery for Annie

Annie's ears have been giving her trouble all her life.  She was born with a cholesteatoma in her right ear that wasn't discovered until she was in kindergarten.  Because it was discovered so late, it had grown large enough to break her hearing bones on that side.  This required surgery to replace the bones with prosthetic ones.  The doctor told us as she grew that the bones would become too small and would need to be replaced with teenage size bones.  The best indicator on when this would need done would be her hearing.  Over the past few months, we noticed a large decrease in Annie's ability to hear.  Last month I took her to the audiologist and the ear specialist.


Early into the audiology test, it became very clear that something was not as it should be, and that it was not what anyone had anticipated.  The left ear was showing moderate to severe hearing loss.  The right ear was also showing compromised hearing.

After the tests with the audiologist we met with the doctor who clearly saw the panic in my face, and quickly and calmly explained Annie had developed a hole in her left ear drum which would easily be fixed with a short surgery.  He also anticipated that this hole had caused fluid to flow freely through the ear and that the hearing bones in the left side would be broken and need replaced with the prosthetic bones just as the right side.

The doctor wanted surgery as soon as possible, but Annie had no more available absences at school.  We took the first appointment after school.  June 11th.

The morning of June 11th we took Annie into the Southwest Idaho Ear Nose and Throat surgery center.  She is a pro at surgery.  It doesn't upset her at all to be hooked up to her IV and be hauled away into the surgery suite.  She wakes up well and recovers well.

After surgery the doctor came to deliver some good news.  By miracle alone, Annie's hearing bones had not broken.  50% of her eardrum was a hole and the fluid flowing back and forth had not broken her hearing bones.  In 4 to 6 weeks her hearing in the left ear will be nearly perfect.  What a blessing!

One last smile before going to surgery



Princess Leia



A few bites of food to get some much needed pain medication.

All of Annie's surgeries up to this point have been done through the ear canal.  We were so surprised when she came back with all these stitches!  This large of an incision has made her recovery a little more painful, but as usual she has been one tough girl.