Today Kathy watched Abby and the twins while Michelle and I drove Timothy to Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center. We talked with a pair of doctors. One talked to us about microtia and what it will mean for him. One thing that we were completely unaware of is that Timothy really doesn't hear in that ear, nor will he. The ear canal is sealed off, not just with flesh but with skull bone. The eardrum is not properly formed. In cases where one ear is properly formed and hearing fine, doctors don't like to try to open the canal and repair the eardrum. There are some minor hearing issues because he is only listening with one ear but they're usually not worth the risks involved in trying to open the canal. The biggest risk is due to a major nerve that runs near the canal. Damage it and that side of his face could be paralyzed.
After the first appointment we saw the surgeon who would do the outer ear reconstruction surgery when Timothy is around 6 years old. The good news is that Dartmouth is a mecca in treating microtia. They were among the pioneers in this field. For my relatives in Chicago, Dartmouth Hitchcock is a major hospital and research center, about the size of Loyola in the Chicago suburbs. The surgery will take place in four stages, with the first being the biggest. The first will involve a couple of days of hospital stay but the second through fourth visits will be a few hours each and he'll return the same day. Each phase will be followed by four to six months of healing. So in the course of a year and a half, his outer ear will be transformed into something reasonably resembling a normal ear.
It was a gorgeous day for a drive. It was nice to drive through the low mountains of New Hampshire. Timothy slept on the way out until we were about 10-15 miles from the destination. After the appointment we searched for over half an hour to try to find a quick drive through for lunch but neither Lebanon nor Hanover had anything like a McD's, BK's, KFC, or a Wendy's. On the plus side it was my first time seeing the Dartmouth University campus. My first exposure to an Ivy League school. ;-) In the end we simply stopped at a gas station's 'quickmart' to pick up a few snacks to hold us over until we got home.
The boys were pretty dirty, sweaty, and tired when we went to pick them up. They had a great time playing most of the day at Kathy's. So much so that they didn't get a nap. They fell immediately asleep as we drove from Nashua to Milford. They didn't even wake up when we went through Milford's local car wash! We gave all three boys baths as soon as we returned.
Michelle and I were discussing a theory of constant water usage. It goes like this. In the winter you use extra water because of the extra weight of laundry (pants, sweatshirts, sweaters, etc.) and in summer you compensate by needing to bath the children more often. Overall, when you have a decent sized family, you can't win. Thank goodness we have a decent well.