Today made me appreciate our glorious NHS and how far we have come on in medical terms more and more. The good news from the Forth Valley Royal Hospital in Larbert is that the Cholesteatoma has not returned. The bleeding from the ear was resultant from an ear infection which triggered the growth of a polyp. Even better the brilliant Dr Harar could deal with it there and then through cauterization.
Thankfully I have no tales of consultants changing in to leather aprons as I am strapped to the inspection couch on my side while the nurse pulls out a red hot poker. I did have an experience similar to that a few years ago when the system first tried to tackle my hearing issues in Canada. I was sent to a hearing specialist who operated from a small wooden cottage in the little, dusty village of Ralston on the prairie in Canada. The surgeon wasn’t wearing a Stetson but he was in cowboy boots, jeans, a checked shirt and was clearly used to the no nonsense approach expected by cowboys who needed to be dealt with quickly as they passed through with their cattle. He decided that I needed a Grommet fitted in the ear drum so started to try and anaesthetise it. Sadly he had the wrong stuff and the attempt at the anaesthetic failed. He gave me the option, go back to work and come back another time or it’s not that painful lets pin you down and get on with it. When I enquired rather tentatively, ‘how painful?’. The Canadian drawl came back ‘It might curl your toes a bit but not that bad!’ It was clear that in the eyes of this surgeon there really was only one option. I took a deep breath and turned on my side saying with as much bravado as I could muster ‘let’s go for it!’ as the surgeon climbed on to a box next to the examination couch and proceeded to kneel on one leg on the couch behind me, his knee and thigh preventing me from rolling back over. His right hand resting hard on the side of my head like he was pinning a calf for branding. I just hoped that he was left handed and tried to convince myself that it wasn’t going to hurt that much. By Jingle!, the cowboys were clearly far hardier than I because what was meant to be toe curling had my entire lower body curling up in to my chest as I clenched my jaw tight and tried hard not to squeal. The surgeon dug around in the ear drum and inserted a grommet before giving me a slap across my flank like I was a calf allowed to stand and trot off post branding!! With as brave a face as I could manage I thanked the surgeon for his time and headed for home my ear ringing with pain. No infection ensued but sadly the grommet fell out a few weeks later. I wasn’t going back there again. It could wait until I got back to the UK!!
Today the whole experience of cauterization was almost painless as with real care Dr Harar was passed what looked like a very long cocktail stick that was going to cauterize the polyp with a clever chemical concoction on the end. He found another and dealt with that too. Remarkably my toes only curled once. I was so impressed by the clean, careful and painless way in which it was done by Dr Harar and his lovely team that I felt that I had no choice but to thank them, tell them about the challenge and hand them each a flyer!! To add further weight to the quality of the service I was receiving in my care the team had no hesitation in giving me all the time I needed to thank them for dealing with me so jolly well from the start, for showing me how I could train my brain to take on the balance function through visual reckoning post removal of the Cholesteatoma complete with the inner ear, and that in so doing gave me the first seeds of an idea to try and Beat the Beast. A huge thank you to Dr Harar and your team in the Forth Valley Royal Hospital.
Tomorrow – I get the results from my MRI scan. God willing all will be well. It is a beautiful day. I’m off to walk the dog. Have a lovely evening.
Yours aye
Archie