Throughout my rollercoaster of medical maladies, in the end the process was relatively painless and efficiently quick. Despite the red tape and conflicting health care coverage, I am now a bona fide recipient of the best health care system in the world! Well, sort of… I am still waiting for my official Carte Vitale in the mail, but my trusty government issued ‘attestation’ with my coverage number has proved very useful the past several weeks; namely in not having to pay for the surgery up front!
One of the most profound quotes I have heard is; If you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans… As life continually teaches, expectations are fleeting and often disappointing, and things are never static but are subject to the most variable of changes, the same was true of my impending surgery. Initially scheduled for June 15, and perfectly placed in between my summer plans, my surgery was unexpectedly switched to June 8, so that the ‘professeur’ (aka teaching or head Dr.) could be present. Maybe this speaks to the delicacy of the surgery itself, or the fact that it is not a common procedure, or perhaps it was because it was due to a rare recurrence of the condition; but either way, it was a continual reminder of the importance of flexibility and acceptance of changing circumstances.
So part way through my dear friend Tefta’s trip, I had to bid a saddened and premature good-bye. I checked in for my pre-admission at Hôpital Édouard Herriot at Grange-Blanche, and settled in for a mandatory night of rest and relaxation. Customary in France, many hospital stays include a pre-sleep at the hospital to ensure that you are properly prepped for the next day’s procedure, including making sure you don’t eat or drink anything after midnight…. A great measure in my case as otherwise if left to my own devices I would turn into a gremlin overnight! A mandatory shower in iodine followed by my brand new PJ’s, and a usual restfully restless sleep, and I was underway for my 6 am wakeup. After the standard blood pressure, temperature and vitals check I was fed a sedative with a sip of water and made to scrub down with more iodine and then I drifted into a peaceful slumber……. Only to be wheeled down to the operating room in a hazy blur of orderlies, bright lights, random French questions, the colour of the light turquoise walls, and a quick peek at the digital clock at 8:3?, as the oxygen mask lulled me into further oblivion.
It was not until around 3:30 that I eventually opened my eyes and regained semi-consciousness for a few seconds. For the rest of the day I remained fairly comatose with a heightened sense of knowing when someone was at my bedside, when I could muster up the strength to open my eyes, half smile and then drift off into sleepy land once again. And like clockwork, the night time hours were filled with the usual restless sleep I am accustomed to, as if I am a vampire or an owl!
The next morning, I was visited by a different nurse for each check – blood pressure – temperature – medication – etc… At one point there were 4 or 5 hospital staff surrounding my bed staring at me in silence; slightly creepy and confusing? My doctor came in early that morning and shared that the surgery was a success and the cholesteatoma was large but she was confident that they were able to remove all of it. And so after a final inspection of my ear I was cleared to go home to begin 2 weeks of recuperation.
And so it has been 11 days since the surgery and the feeling of light-headedness and slight intoxication has waned. I met with my Dr. earlier than the prescheduled follow up date as the piece of cotton stuffed in my ear was driving me crazy and preventing the ear drops from penetrating through to the middle ear. And the 10-11 stitches outlining the back of my ear have loosened and are healing and will naturally fall out!! This piece of news is the most exciting as I am a big baby and terrified of having stitches removed. The concept of sound and hearing is bizarre and I am reminded of the Whisper 2000 infomercials of years ago, as I randomly switch from feeling as if my head is in a vacuum to the feeling that I am underwater, to hearing my own voice echo in my ear, to hearing every other sound amplified while the voices next to me are distant… And only time will tell if I have retained the same, worse or a better level of hearing than before; but it is comforting to know that the Dr. was surprised that I had not experienced a greater hearing loss from the first surgery nearly 11 years ago.
Et voila… another piece of the puzzle has been assembled…
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