So, part of my mastoid bone was gone - either from repeated ear infections as a child, or possibly from birth. And because of the missing section of bone, my brain was sitting on the three bones in your ear canal that are supposed to vibrate when you hear sound. I have had significant hearing loss for some time and tried to explain to different doctors how things sounded. My voice is extremely loud inside my head. Chewing is extremely loud. When I eat or talk, the only thing I can hear is me. It drowns out all external sound because it's so loud. Of course no one offered any reason for this and most looked at me like I had hit my head. So, I got hearing aids. They did nothing for the issue at hand, but they did amplify the external sound enough that I could hear above my own voice slightly.
So, I got meningitis and because of that, I had a CAT scan, which showed the issue with the missing bones in my ears. So, that is why they think I got meningitis and said it required a reconstruction of the mastoid bone and a lifting of my brain to get it back to where it belonged.
It was about a 3 hour surgery, and they actually ended up cutting off a portion of my brain and cauterizing it, which caused it to "retreat" upward and allowed room for reconstruction of the missing bone without "lifting" the brain. That's all good news, I am told. Apparently everyone else of the face of the planet had surgery that day, too, because it was after 10:00 p.m. before I got to a room. There really wasn't any pain, so to speak. The incision was around the back of my ear - they basically folded it over onto my face and then sewed it back where it belonged.
The worst part was the recovery time. 2 weeks of not bending over and not lifting. Do you know how many times you bend over in a day? Or how many times you grab something up without even thinking? And the fact that I didn't really "feel" that bad almost made it worse. I felt like getting out and doing things, but I couldn't. So, I abided by the rules. Oh, and I couldn't cough or sneeze for 2 weeks, as well. So, at my post-op check up, they said everything looked great, and I could bend over and begin easing back into life. I go for my final check up end of December. Then they will schedule the other ear.
And, apparently there is some scarring from when I was intubated with the meningitis, and I have told different doctors what it feels like in my throat, and they don't seem to concerned. But to me it feels like if I cough really hard, something will come up into my throat and cut off my airway. So, I am still trying not to cough or sneeze. I googled and the only thing I found that is close to what it feels like is called a "granuloma" on the larynx. I found pictures and it took months for the case I saw to heal. I am hoping mine doesn't take that long!
OK, here are pictures:
OK, the gross ones are of the actual surgery. My brain is hanging out, but I couldn't tell you where.
Below is a picture of the incision right after surgery, and then 2 weeks post-op.
How are u now?
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