Photo Update 27 Weeks Post Op

Time for some photos!  I've been making collages and posting them on Facebook, so most of these have been shown there already... But some went only in my wall.  Feel free to friend me if you like!  I update there more than here.  I need to let changes accumulate and fund the hours it takes to make these posts.  Facebook is faster for just one photo. But first, here's some news:

1) for not quite 6 months post op, my ear is doing really well.  Dr. Griffiths said that this is the peak time for the scars to be noticeable and red.  After that, they will begin fading.

2) the grossness behind my left ear where the skin graft was feels a bit lumpy but otherwise normal... Yay! Likewise, the additional great behind my right, new ear is slowly blending in better too.  As of today, there is finally starting to be a ridge behind the ear there now that the swelling is going down more!

3) my ribs still click when I use my arms a lot.  This is not typical and dr. Griffiths has never had it happen before, but I am also not a typical patient since I found out I've had fibromyalgia since I was 9 AFTER the surgery.  The clicking is more of an annoyance than anything else.

4) I've realized that I never felt I looked different than anyone else before surgery.  And, even during this healing process, I have not really felt self conscious about the ear.  This again shows me that I was being honest with myself when I decided to have this done. I totally get why insurance pays for it as medically necessary... This was not about my appearance, it was about getting whole inside.  This makes me happy... I LOVE how my ear is coming along!!! It's so fun to watch it change little by little.  As in some of my collages, you will see that sometimes I just like looking at the extremely subtle things that happen within just a few days... Look close...

Pictures!

Quick Photos

In the past week, I've noticed some subtle changes I want to share.  I am most excited that the new ear piece that connects to my lobe on the right is actually starting to protrude out so far!  I though maybe there would always be a big step there since I haven't noticed much improvement.  But when I looked at it yesterday I noticed it's flattening out.  I know I do have a bit of a jump there on my left ear, so it will probably never be completely flat, but it is improving!! 

It never fails, just when I start to don't it will ever look any better, I notice something like this!! 

The first two photos are comparisons I've put together since then to see what else has been changing the past few weeks.  The others are from Friday, April 18th.  When I get on my computer I will try to put some things side by side... But if you recall how uneven my ears were before surgery and even right after surgery, you will see that as the swelling subsides, they are becoming more and more alike in location!!!

Happy Easter Weekend!

18 Weeks

So I'm still trying to deal with the fibromyalgia pain and am not using my computer.  Bear with me, as I wrote you all a very nice post a while ago, but somehow it didn't save when I went to edit the photos and I lost it.. I'm new to doing posts from my camera!! 

1). Good news lately!  First, after looking at my ct scan, my doctor decided I do not need to have my jaw broken and extended!! Instead, he will just clean out both tmj discs by making two small holes in front of each ear... One for fluid in, one for taking out.  I am meeting with a physical therapist once a week until that surgery on May 7th, and will see her twice a week for about 5 weeks after surgery.  She is wonderful and came highly recommended.  After 26 years and many injuries, she is the first one to notice that I have really loose ligaments and joints.. Hence all the injuries.  Apparently I shouldn't really do much stretching, but only strengthening exercises... And we're talking my while body, not only my jaw.  Go figure.  This week my exercise was to put my tongue in the roof of my mouth where it falls when you say the word mine while keeping my back teeth apart wide enough to slip in a piece of paper.  I have to do this 15 minutes four times a day.  Who knew that could be so tiring!!

2). The other really good news is that the place on my new ear we were a little concerned that the cartilage was separating is indeed just healing.  It's looking less like it's jutting out of my head and pulling out the skin everyday now! 

3). I don't have much more feeling in my new ear, but I still have a lot of itching spells in it and where the skin graft on my other ear is as well.  The good thing is that I have just enough sensation that usually a little light rubbing followed by a little pressure helps call it down.  The key is pressure versus scratching.

4). Sleeping is pretty much back to normal now.  No matter which side I sleep on, there's not too much swelling.  The only thing that is a pain is that I have to be careful what earrings I wear to bed.  If they aren't small and smooth they irritate and rub into the new ear and it hurts... The good thing is I have enough feeling there to know it hurts so I can change it out!

5). Although I've said it here and there, I want to reiterate that the complications I had from surgery were not normal or preventable because I had underlying health issues that I did not know about into I had surgery and they caused issues.  It is no ones fault, and Dr. Griffiths has been wonderful about helping where he can since especially at the beginning we all assumed the surgery was the direct cause of the symptoms... But it was not.  I am also older than most people having the surgery, so of course my recovery is going to be longer and a bit harder just because if that.  I knew that before I decided to have the ear constructed.  I knew the risks, and was fully prepared to handle them.

But so you can understand where my story is much different than a typical recovery, hers the gist of it:  When I was coming out if anesthesia I had a reaction from being out for so long without my cpap mask on (not typical for sleep apnea).  It took two hours before it was under control.  Dr. Griffiths actually stayed until they knew it was OK... About an hour and a half, when typically surgeons do not hang around since a 13 hour surgery is very demanding and exhausting.  We did not know it, but this caused a large hematoma to firm in my abdomen, which is why I had so much pain and why it was so severe for longer than typical.  However,  I knew that I would be in pain and didn't really have anything to gauge if it was worse than it should have been, so it makes sense no one considered that I already had a complication from surgery... I had no extra bruising on my abdomen.  Also, because at that point I didn't know I had fibromyalgia (which I would never have found out if I hasn't had the surgery by the way) I thought I had a low pain tolerance because I've always been told that I can't possibly be in so much pain, etc etc... And I was young and didn't know so I he up believing that.  My ear was WAY more swollen than typical and my pain took longer to get better... Both of which can be attributed to the fibro.  And, BTW, at week 16, Dr. Griffiths told me my ear was right on track for 4 months out, so it did catch up!  My pain came back because we messed with an antidepressant that was unknowingly treating my fibro pain.  A week ago we started switching me from that antidepressant to another one that will hopefully help even more with the pain... And wouldn't you know it,  after we decreased the old one, for a few days I had a bunch of abdominal pain again!!  So by having this surgery, I learned I had some other physical health problems that I've had a long time, but went undiagnosed into the surgery made them worse.  But I'm so thankful for that because finally it explains my life and has made me more confident that I do indeed know my body and what it needs.  That has been a wonderful relief and very helpful in getting better treatment for all of my medical issues.  I also learned that I can put up with a lot more than i ever thought I could.  In general, I an a much more resilient, persistent, and confident person since the surgery... And none of that is related to my appearance!!  The ear helps me feel more whole inside, and I smile inside knowing that most people don't realize it's "not real", but I feel no need to show it off.  It's just part of me... Although it does still look weird and even creep me out sometimes when I look in the mirror!  From straight on,  it is almost scarily identical to my other ear!!  I actually hope it doesn't look too much more matchy matchy!!  Nothing should look 100% identical.. We are human after all!  I also met some really wonderful people that helped me see the good in people and learn how to ask for help in a way that doesn't out pressure on anyone to do more than they feel able.  I learned that despite medical issues, you can still lead a happy, fulfilling life.  The ear really is only a very small part of what the experience gave me.  So, just know that I don't regret the choice or what it caused at all.  I'm not sure I ever have.  From the moment I got on my flight to go out there, I felt more and more sure that I was doing exactly what I needed to do exactly where it needed to happen.  Looking back,  I see so much change from that month... Even if parts of it are hard right now, they will get under control and my overall life is better because of them.  What's to regret?  ;).  Just know that my pain, swelling, and complications were not caused by the surgeon or the surgery, buy because of underlying health issues no one knew about.  This was such a good experience for me,  and I have had such a positive experience with the surgeon I chose... Even 4 months later when i need to get a hold if him out talk to his staff... I don't want anyone hearing about the seemingly "awful" things that it caused and have it turn them off to the idea of surgery.  I would do it all over again if I needed.

As always, I wish you all the best along your journeys, and an always happy to entertain comments, questions, etc etc!  And now for the photos!!!!!

14 Weeks, 4 Days

Hello all!

I have been extraordinarily busy the past few weeks, and then went on vacation last week, so I missed a few weeks of updates.  I'm going to stick with the style from last time; I will give you some major highlights in the progress, or lack thereof, and then add some photos.

1) Dr. Griffiths agreed that the two pieces of cartilage near the top on the rim had indeed separated.  He said for now will we keep an eye on it (meaning I will send him pictures more often until we conclude it is okay), but if it needs to be corrected, it would be a fairly easy procedure.

2) My fibromyalgia pain comes and goes, but isn't really any worse near my incision than anywhere else these days!  However, the swelling I thought I had on my right side is actually just a permanent indentation from having some of my rib cartilage removed, which can happen (but not always).  For me, it's not too noticeable (unless I stand completely straight, not even my doctors can tell), but since it is my body, I do see it.  I don't really care, and I can't even see it very easily...one advantage of being female ;)

3) I have some feeling not only in my earlobe (which did not have any skin graft), but now it's also creeping up and into parts near the edge of the skin graft.  Some weeks it is itchier than others.  A week ago, I was worried I had all the feeling back I was going to get, but then a few days ago it started itching like mad again.  The break was nice, though!  When I lay on that ear, as new areas develop feeling, it feels weird!

4) I love having my new ear.  Despite the hematoma from coughing for 2 hours coming out of anesthesia, and the unfortunate discovery that I wasn't free of pain way beyond what the 'longest recovery' had been because I had fibromyalgia that had been increased from the physical trauma of a 13 hour surgery and painful recovery (I believe, looking back, I have had fibromyalgia for 16 years.  We just never knew because I was too young to know it wasn't normal to feel how I felt and I didn't know how to advocate for myself...plus we were accidentally already treating it with a medication I was taking for another reason), I would do it again.  The feeling of balance and completeness on my head is wonderful!  Yes, I could have worked through those feelings and gotten used to it, but I have a lot of other things I need to put that energy towards, and I had a great opportunity to get the gift of a new ear.  I'm an artist, and for me, there is a lot of artistry in having an ear sculpted out of my own cartilage.  I love it.  I am SO happy that I made this decision though.  I am thankful that my parents didn't have it done before I was old enough to get teased, etc.  It made me stronger to grow up that way, granted it was never a sore spot physically in school, which I know is not the case for everyone.  I also know that it is a lot easier to get insurance to cover the procedure when the patient is a child.  I know I'm lucky, and I also know that the timing was perfect for me.  However, everyone's life is so unique, there's no "right way", or "right time", etc. in general.  We all need to support everyone's choices, because there are too many variables for there to be any sort of chart telling us what is right for everyone.

...and now...some photos!!!!!

This last one you may have to scroll a bit to see it all, but I thought having the pictures be a little bigger would be worth that added hassle...

Long Over-Due Update

WOW, my life has exploded with medical problems...and thus I have been running around like crazy and stressed, so I have had to post-pone an update until now.  Don't worry...I didn't just go back to life and forget about my blog...I thought about it a lot actually, but was unable to get it together and update.  I felt badly that some people that have been following my posts might have thought I just moved on, but rest assured, that was not the case, and is still not the case.  In fact, since I am moving forward with jaw surgery for my hemifacial microsomia (which is related to Microtia and Atresia), I plan to just transition into posting about that experience as well as it moves along.

So, tomorrow marks 12 weeks post-op!  I am going to transition to taking my photos on Sundays, since that's also the day I have to take them when I send them to Dr. Griffiths once a month.  But for this week, I had already made up some collages from last Wednesday as well.  But first, here's what has gone on since I last posted:

1) I have decided I will move forward with jaw surgery to lengthen the right side of my lower jaw bone because it is becoming increasingly painful and is really starting to limit my food choices.  I have done more research and talked to some people that have had it done, and I think having it done will be best.  I had molds and x-rays taken yesterday, and have a CT scan this Friday.  After that, we will know if I need braces, and if so, for how long.  Then the fun part of getting prior authorization for it all...I just got approved for Medicaid, but luckily the hospital I see most of my doctors through knows how to work well with Medicaid and will do all that for me.

2) I received notice that my SSI (Supplemental Security Income - need-based disability income) was approved.  I applied in July 2013, so thankfully I did not have a long wait.  I feel extremely lucky, but it's bittersweet, since that means the government really felt I actually am too disabled to work due to my mental issues.  Basically, I look and act normal most of the time - at least outwardly - but it takes me all my concentration to keep my brain and thoughts and behaviors coming out that way.  If I try to do too much, then all hell breaks lose because I can't work/do too much AND keep my mental illnesses in check.  Luckily, I can at least do one of those...so I can not be a crazy lunatic all the time and enjoy life still :)  I know I have not really mentioned this piece of my medical problems on this blog before, and I don't plan on divulging much in terms of specifics unless I am asked privately, but it is an important, and very LARGE piece of my life, so I feel it deserves mention since it's having a big influence on my whole being right now.

3) I figured out what was causing my stomach pain, and thank GOODNESS, besides the hematoma (which is now gone), it is NOT directly related to surgery.  It has delayed my healing some, but that is not related to anything Dr. Griffiths or I did following surgery...except maybe my coughing fit, but no one could have predicted that, and they got it under control ASAP.  Basically, I have been on antidepressants since 5th grade (and here's where it might be helpful that I shared number 2 on this list).  Since then, I have had quite a few traumatic events happen, both emotional and physical.  I had a lot of emotional stress last spring and through the summer, and then in August starting having 5-7 day bouts of what we called a 'stomach flu'.  I would be so tired I didn't want to move any muscles, my whole body hurt, and I was nauseous.  I never threw up, had a fever, runny nose, etc.  Well, after surgery, these bouts got worse and closer together.  Since the summer I have been having other weird things happen (I can't remember common words, my hands are really cold, etc...things that are not typical for me, but alone didn't really cause any red flags).  So, in January, when we started Metformin for my insulin resistance and I suddenly had more energy and felt better overall, we were ecstatic.  We decreased some of my psych meds.  That is where we went wrong. Those medications take about 1-2 weeks to get out of your system.  About 1 and a half weeks after the decrease is when I noticed my stomach pain was coming back and getting really bad.  By 2 weeks, I needed prescription pain killers to help the pain, the pain was spreading all over my body, and was moving around.  Yes, the rib area on the right was the worst, but everywhere hurt.  Then, I got extremely fatigued again and nauseous.  During that time, I had mentioned to my physician that maybe my 'stomach flu' was something like fibromyalgia.  We had decided to just keep an eye on it since it had barely been 6 months since I had started having those episodes and since I was coming out of a rough mental patch, it could just be that.  When my rib x-ray came back normal, and then my ultrasound and bloodwork did as well.  I called off the search (unless my Doctor's could think of a reason post-op complications would still be a concern for wide-spread pain, etc.).  The pain increased because the psych med we decreased is also used to treat fibromyalgia pain!  We reinstated it last Sunday, and I have already seen a little improvement in my pain...I still need a lot of pain medication, but a lot less than a week ago!  I have an appointment with my physician next Monday to discuss other treatments for my fibromyalgia symptoms.  So, not only have I been in a lot of pain, but I have been so darn exhausted, there is no way I could keep up with anything that wasn't 100% necessary...thus my lack of updates on this blog.

4) Starting at the beginning of February, I have started regaining feeling in my new ear!!!  One evening I noticed I could feel that a cream I had just dabbed on that earlobe was cold, but I still couldn't feel touch.  By morning I had feeling back in the whole earlobe!  The rest of the ear is still pretty much numb...but very very slowly, I am getting feeling back around the edges of the skin graft.  I figure that since this skin was grafted, unlike the earlobe which was just re-positioned, it will take longer to get back feeling.

5) My large scar on my right thigh crease gets dry, painful and itch A LOT!  I really rely on my silicone scar gel to keep the area from drying out so that it doesn't hurt or itch.  As long as I keep it moist, I don't feel a thing.  The other scars get this occasionally, but not as often or as badly.

6) The back of my left ear is looking really good FINALLY!!!  The skin graft has thinned out, and doesn't look so gross anymore.  It's still not all the same color/thickness, but at least it's not so thick and shiny.  BIG improvement.  It does itch though...and again that scar gel comes in handy...

7) I don't always wear something behind the new ear to bed at night because I found that no matter what I used, it created problems like increased swelling and/or irritated the earlobe portion of the ear. However, I might have caused a different problem, or it may just have happened on its own.  The upper rim was two pieces stitched together.  That stitch broke before the cartilage healed together (or maybe it never bonds...I'm fuzzy on those kinds of details...I have an email into Dr. Griffiths), and the upper piece isn't held down anymore, so it pushes out and up into the skin a little.  This causes the curve to be a little rugged there, and sometimes if I touch that area it's a bit tender.  I can also push on the end of the cartilage there and it moves back into place...so I'm not sure if there's some way to fix it or not...we'll see.

8)  I LOVE my ear.  Even despite some bumps, I would do it again.  I didn't expect a perfect procedure, recovery, ear, healing, etc. as that's just not possible.  Nothing is 100% perfect.  However, my ear continues to blow me away everyday!  The more the swelling subsides, the more I see how awesome it is.  I'm in love!  I am used to having it there and I like that.

That's plenty for one update!  Here's the photos:

Week 9 was my 26th birthday!

So this past week has been crazy.  Monday I found out I should have jaw surgery to correct my hemifacial microsomia (x-ray showed that my right - small - jaw is about 1 cm too short to reach where it's supposed to sit...it's just been floating, and so now my left jaw joint has also moved out of place.  This is all causing me a lot of pain and creating problems eating.), Wednesday marked 9 weeks post-op and was my 26th Birthday, and Today, Saturday, I found black hairs growing from the outer edge of my new ear.

I knew that I would have some hair growth in some areas, but there's no real sure way to know exactly where or how much.  So far, it's very very fine, but black.  The only reason I noticed it was because that's also where there is still a lot of brown patches on the skin (something that will fade with time) and I zoomed in on the area because it looked a little greener than normal.  They are too fine to really pluck, so I'm hoping I can use a hair removal cream on them eventually.  However, I have never had luck with hair removal creams dissolving my hair, so that might be tricky.  But, luckily, at least so far, it doesn't appear to cover a large area on the ear.  I would guess it will stay that way since there wasn't much black hair behind my left ear, and that's where the majority of that skin came from...but I guess there's no way to know but to just wait and see.

All-in-all, I still love my ear though!  It's getting more normal feeling...less like something attached to my head, and more like part of my body.  I can tell it's healing more from the inside now as well.  I can move the ear around a lot now, and a couple weeks ago, I couldn't.  I don't mean that the cartilage bends - because it doesn't - but I can grab the ear as a whole and wiggle it up, down, and side to side.  If I push the outside rim gently towards my head, I can feel with my fingers the lower edge of the cartilage framework stick out and push against my skin inside my head.  Odd, but not painful at all.

I still have no feeling in the ear, however, my earlobe seems to be able to tell temperatures now...although I still really can't feel it when I touch it.

The color has also gotten a lot less red lately, and in general, I get less of an impression of swelling when I look at my ear.  It's still really swollen (as is that side of my head in general), but there is a marked difference lately.  However, I've changed up my sleeping gear again, and it swells again overnight...but I am so much more comfortable, I'm hoping it will go away with a few more weeks.  Basically, I bought a kit of silicone mold putty at the local hobby store (I used a 40% off coupon so it cost under $15 for enough for many many ear molds as the swelling continues to decrease).  The mold, once set (takes 20 minutes), is food-grade, so I don't have to worry about chemicals leaching into my head.  The mold is flexible enough it won't damage the ear and is comfortable to lay on, but firm enough to support my ear when I lay on it.  Basically, I shaped it to support the back of my ear and around the top and bottom areas as well.  I sloped it gradually down in the back to reach my head, making sure to do it gradually enough that I could use my BAHA post as an anchor to help hold it in place at night.  NO MORE TAPE!!!!  It stays will just the light pressure from my CPAP mask strap!

I'm still a bit frustrated with my abdominal pain, but at least I know most of it is from a hematoma.  I have noticed that jeans are out at the moment...I wore a pair yesterday and had a lot more pain this morning.  I wore sweat pants all day, and it hurts very little now.  I just have to be careful.  In general, as long as I'm careful, it doesn't hurt much...but if I make it hurt...then it can throb to the point of causing me to wince.  Other than that, healing is going well.

So, of course, the main point of my weekly updates for many of you...the photos!

8 Week Update

Hi everyone!  I'm sorry this is a few days late...I've been really sick and pretty much in bed sleeping all week.  On top of that, I'm having a lot of unexplained abdominal pain.  It is highly unlikely a result of the rib graft harvest since I had pretty much no pain for so many weeks beforehand.  However, right now we are wondering if it is related.  Last Saturday (the day before the pain began) I had to carry my cat in a cat carrier.  My guess is that although I am fairly healed from surgery, that was too much weight (plus the weight kept shifting its center since the cat would move) and since the healing area is still week, I put too much strain on the surrounding muscles.  The worst pain started near the incision site, but now it's more right in the middle of my chest a few inches above my belly button.  I also have pain along the bottom of my ribs on my left side.  Needless to say, this is frustrating and until I see my family physician on Monday, I'm trying not to aggravate the area.  This means pretty much no movement of my right arm other than what I can't avoid, as well as no bending over, since that also makes my stomach hurt a lot.  I have been in contact with Dr. Griffiths and am keeping him posted.  The last time I spoke with him, I had not thought about the cat carrier incident, so I will mention it next time and see what he thinks.

So, some disappointing setbacks in my abdomen, but everywhere else is doing really well!  I plucked my first dark hair from the back of my left ear where the skin graft from my upper thigh went, but otherwise that area is finally starting to smooth out.  It's still not very nice to look at, but it feels better to the touch, so I'm more optimistic about the final appearance now.

My beautiful new ear has come a LONG way since last week.  I have found better ways to protect it overnight (I use hair tape - yes, apparently that's a thing...it's like paper tape but gentler - to tape gauze behind the ear and over the front).  I found that using paper tape was irritating my skin and actually caused some open sores on my face.  I found hair tape (I went with a friend to a cosmetologist only store) and tried that.  It's pretty much paper tape but gentler...plus I can now hold down the gauze from all 4 sides, instead of 2!  Yes, it does hurt a little to take out and pulls a few strands of hair out, but that's much less damage than the paper tape.  The pulling on the hair when I take the tape out is probably comparable to having a small knot worked on in your hair.  This is allowing me to sleep more normally.  The past few nights I have spent a lot of time sleeping on my new ear.  But I have learned something to keep in mind: invest in a memory foam pillow!  I just happen to already have one.  I also have a small pillow that I sometimes put over top.  I put the small pillow on top of my memory foam one last night and tried to sleep on my new ear...it was REALLY uncomfortable!!!  I felt like I had this huge lumpy bulge on the side of my head, and it was very uncomfortable.  I removed the small pillow and just used the memory foam pillow.  At first, I can feel the ear, but as soon as the foam conforms to my head, I would never guess it was there...it's probably safer for the ear too.  On the small pillow, I felt like all of my head's weight was resting on my ear!

Even though I've been sleeping on the ear more, I continue to wake up with less and less swelling every morning.  The outer rim is usually fairly defined these days, and the ear is in general appearing "thinner".  It still has a long way to go, but seeing all the tiny progress just makes me realize how much it's still going to change.

Before sharing some photos, I have one more thing I'd like to share.  I said that getting an ear was for me.  That I felt like I had a missing body part and that it had less to do with the ear's actual appearance.  I am happy to report that I am confident that I was not lying to myself in an effort to hide some vanity I was embarrassed to admit.  Yes, it's lovely and I do like keeping everyone involved in the process updated, but it ends there.  I'm not in a hurry to show anyone or talk to anyone about it if they don't already know about it.  I love how beautiful it is and think the artistry in it is amazing, and I do like sharing about it when people ask.  But mainly, I just like walking around - even at home - knowing that I have an ear there.  I don't feel the need to show it off, because I am satisfied inside just knowing it's there and having the feeling of an ear.  Now, that doesn't mean I don't like talking about it and showing it off and being excited about it with my friends and family - and all of you...because you all get it.  You're already part of the story, and who doesn't like sharing joys - and hardships - with friends and family?  There was some concern in the back of my mind that I was going to get this ear and just want everyone to see it and want to talk to everyone about it, and that that, in my mind, is not a good reason to have had this done.  So, as the days go by, and I find I am really happy to know that I am interacting with others like normal, not wanting to brag about my ear, but instead feeling very satisfied inside to know that I can feel its presence and no one seems to notice.  That makes me feel very good inside.  I have grown as a person, and I am at a point in my life where I can be happy for me, and that is enough.  This experience helped me get there, and now as I heal, is helping prove to me over and over again that it's true; I have changed, and I love every moment of it!

~Katie

Here are some pictures from this week:

When I first plucked the hair, it created a large pimple-like bump and I was a little concerned.  A few minutes later, I took another photo, and it was already calming down.  I have heard that if my new ear gets a bug bite in this first year, that the ear may very well get very red and swollen.  That's normal, and I have been told not to freak out.  So, I had my fingers crossed that this would work the same way.

And I always save the best for last...no comparison photos this week because the other photos have all been moved to my desktop, but I cannot operate my mouse or keyboard without abdominal pain, so I am back on my netbook for now.  I will tell you, though, that it's getting so much more definition...and that puffy white spot at the top is -again- starting to sink in the way it should.  As I said, the color has a ways to go, but in general, the shape is fantastic!  Unless I put this ear in direct comparison with my other ear, I forget that it is indeed much thicker than a normal ear.  I am very pleased with the overall shape and appearance of the ear at this point.  I know I'm still really swollen (my right temple is still puffy even), but that only makes me more excited since it means there's still a lot more swelling to disappear - and hence and even more defined ear!

7 Weeks Post-Op

I am almost 2 months out already!  It seems so long ago sometimes, but other times it's hard to believe it has been that long!

This past week I have been allowed to experiment with sleeping on the ear!  The rule is that I must keep something behind it to keep it from getting forced into the side of my head.  Since cartilage is living tissue, sleeping on that ear without support behind it could cause the shape of the cartilage to change shape over time.  I am still trying to find the best way to keep my support on.  The support I made out of a large Telfa gauze pad that I stuffed 4 cotton balls into in a row on one side.  I taped the ends, and shortened the area without cotton balls so that the support gently slopes from flat to 3-D...just like the back of the ear.  However, there's no convenient way to make anything stay behind your ear since there is hair on two sides...and mine is also short and fine.  So, you have to wear some sort of head wrap.  I have a few different things I've made and/or bought, but I haven't found the perfect one yet...they all tend to creep up overnight and end up going over the middle of my ears...which increases the swelling in my ear.  I'm working on it though, and it's getting better.

That's the thing I've noticed most this week: I have MUCH more swelling overnight than before.  Luckily Dr. Griffiths isn't concerned as long as it's just from laying horizontal overnight.  It would become an issue if something tight rubbed on the ear for long periods of time though, as that could create an ulcer.  Dr. Griffiths was actually more concerned about my abdominal pain.  I have noticed that certain activities really make me sore there.  I wasn't sure how big of a deal that was to my healing, but he said I should avoid doing anything that aggravates it.  This is frustrating, because the very few things that cause the pain, are things I really need to be doing (i.e. working on my quilt orders...ironing and using my rotary cutter are the primary irritants I have found).  So, I'm trying to be patient and just do a little bit of quilting as I can tolerate it.  Before I knew it was going to cause pain, I quilted too long and had so much pain I could feel tightness while breathing and laughing again!  The scary thing was that if I raised my right arm out in front of me, I could feel a popping/snapping sound/movement in my chest!  That is a definite no-no.  I took it very easy on my abs for a while after that one...

My two skin graft harvest sites are FINALLY healed!  Still very red/purple and shedding very thin layers of dead skin as it completely heals...but no more scabs of any kind!

The incision from the rib graft harvest site has been healed from scabs for a few weeks now, but I did have to remove a stitch from it the other day...there was a circle of red puffiness about 1/4 inch in diameter with a white scabby looking line in part of it (that was the stitch that was infected).  I sterilized my pointy tweezers and grabbed the stitch and it came right out.  That spot is back to normal now.  The stitch I removed was dissolvable, and may have dissolved over more time (or my body might have worked it out), but since it was clearly showing signs of a small infection, I thought it was best to help get it out.  I can see a deeper black (non-dissolvable) stitch at the very end of the incision, but that one is not irritating anything for now, and too far down for me to remove.

Over this last week, by evening, my new ear looks really nice.  There is starting to be a depression around the entire rim area with the decrease in swelling!  The back of the ear is completely closed up now, and the whole ear is definitely not as red as a few weeks ago.

My biggest annoyance is the itching!  My scalp and the outside edges of the new ear itch A LOT!  But, they are all still numb, so I can't lightly scratch/rub/touch the area to quiet the itch.  Luckily, my scalp has started to regain a little bit of feeling in the past couple days, but sometimes the itch goes too deep for that to do much.

Now, as always, it's time for the picture updates!

See you next week!

The last collage has photos at 7 weeks post-op...except for the swollen one in the lower left corner.