Monday, October 18, 2004

Poor Me!

Yeah, well, maybe I DON'T deserve any sympathy, but I'll tell you the story anyway.

Last Friday I was cleaning my ears using a Q-tip on my way downstairs to wake up my sister Katie. She sleeps on the top of a set of bunkbeds in her room and I decided I wanted to wake her gently instead of hollering through the open door; I was going to climb up into the bed and lay next to her and talk to her...it works for us, maybe it would annoy you to death. ;) Well, I had the q-tip in my hand and I so I stuck it in my left ear to have a hand free to climb--ever done that? I do it from time to time. Well, in the two seconds it took to climb from the floor to the top bunk I forgot the q-tip was there and plopped my head onto the pillow next to my sister...on my left side.

Instantly the q-tip went through my eardrum. Instantly I was writhing in pain.

So I spent Friday afternoon at Upper Valley Hospital's ER. I have an appt tomorrow at Edina's Park Nicollet Clinic so I can get a referral to an ENT doctor. All this is because the inner ear is now exposed to outside air and therefore outside germs--which is normally not the case. If I get an infection, the chances of the eardrum healing on its own decrease significantly. I am taking Augmentin and without complications, I should be all better in a few weeks. But for now, every noise coming in from the left is slightly muffled. Good thing I know ASL! ;)

1 comment:

Emily said...

Jenni... OK, here are my thoughts as I read through your story:

Q-tip... this is gonna be bad.

Lay down next to me and talk to me to wake me up? I'd kill you, but you knew that. Um, the Q-tip?

Girl, you're NEVER supposed to leave a Q-tip in your head. Ever hear of EARTHQUAKES?!?!?

Holy crap! You've NEVER heard of earthquakes! NO WONDER you said you had a story for me! I'm praying for you that NO INFECTION touches your eardrums. I guess it's better than sticking it in your eye???? I don't think you've mastered Braille yet...

Love you.