Grady's Cholesteatoma Surgery: Update 3

Email sent by Joe from the hospital

Begin forwarded message:

From: "Gallagher, Joseph P" <Joseph.P.Gallagher@p66.com>

Date: December 22, 2013 11:44:58 PM CST

Family –

Grady is doing well – relatively speaking, of course.  He was elated to have the external bandages removed yesterday; however, the steri-strips over his incision and the internal packing within his ear will remain for another couple of weeks – the result of such an invasive surgery.  His ear is still leaking fluids (sorry if gross) and will do so for a while longer.  Grady is getting some good naps in during the day; he usually doesn't nap, but I think he is still a bit worn out from the procedure and all of the subsequent hullabaloo.

We've already noticed some hearing loss, but we're hopeful that he'll continue to gain some back – though we suspect the net hearing loss will likely be in the 40 to 60 decibel range (moderate to severe).  Additionally, he has noticed a slight loss of taste; there is a nerve in the ear that helps control taste and it had to be sacrificed as part of the procedure.  Ultimately, it is probable that he'll have a follow up surgery to further reconstruct the inner part of the ear, which should help to improve hearing even more.

As you can imagine, the first week of our vacation has been nothing close to what we had planned.  The surgery alone threw us a curve, but we now have to keep Grady protected from possible infection, which has caused us to cancel events and alter how we interact (e.g., Grady's cousin, who has a cough, came to visit today, so Grady wore a surgical mask the entire time – he is such a tough little boy to deal with all of this!).  As an example of the severity of infection risk associated with his procedure, just one of many possible consequences of infection is meningitis (this due to the proximity of the surgical location to his brain).

So, what does all of this mean in terms of our planned Alaska vacation?  Well, here are some possible plans – depending on what we hear from the doctor this week:

·         Plan A: Proceed according to our original plan (i.e., all of us head up there).  This plan is contingent upon a 'green light' from the doctor and we'd also have to implement some measures to protect Grady during the trip.

·         Plan B: Joe, Molly, Ellery, & Briley head to Alaska; Kelly & Grady remain in Seattle.

·         Plan C: Joe, Molly, & Ellery head to Alaska; Kelly, Grady, & Briley remain in Seattle.

We'll know more once we hear from the doctor – the earliest being tomorrow.  Grady also has a follow up appointment on the 24^th.

We will keep you posted!

Love,

Joe G.