ActiveRain March Challenge: Recovery Time
Patricia Feager and Lew Corcoran are the hosts for the "March 2025 ActiveRain Challenge: Sharing the Gift of Who You Are." The ActiveRain challenge is to share the profound impact someone had on you in shaping you to who you are today.
During this first week of the ActiveRain March Challenge, I am personally challenged by being a patient in recovery after major surgery.
Many years ago, I had some surgery to correct a lesion in my left ear and was advised that it was successful. Like many, I have had my share of ear aches when we get ear drops to remove the pain and then move on. During the past couple of years, my health conditions have negatively impacted my personal activities. I had a major case of vertigo that required a trip to the emergency room. After that experience, I lost my hearing in my left ear and have had over 35 medical appointments and therapy sessions related to balance issues, jaw pain, fainting and recurring ear infections.
In November, I finally learned about the cause of my ear problems when Dr. Pete Sorensen at The Centers for Advanced ENT CARE advised that I had a cholesteatoma that would require surgery. He referred me to Dr. Wade Chien, the Medical Director of the Johns Hopkins Medicine Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery in Bethesda, Maryland.
On Monday, March 3, I was admitted at the Johns Hopkins Medicine Suburban Hospital in Bethesda for tympanoplasty with mastoidectomy surgery. I was fortunate to be referred to one of the most respected surgeons for this kind of surgery. My family support was also comforting. My wife, Dolores and my sister and brother-in-law, Wynne and Dave Roos, spent the day at the hospital until I was released to go home that afternoon. My family also took me for an additional appointment to see Dr. Chien on Tuesday afternoon after some excessive bleeding.
I am at home and Dr. Chien advised be to take it easy and my condition should improve each day. Normally, it takes a couple of weeks or more to return to normal activities after this kind of surgery.
Kathy Streib asked me to let her know when I had surgery and this post will serve to let her know.
Please forgive me for any errors or typos in this blog post. Consider them to be 'senior moments'. You may need to use Google for some definitions.
Miltoniopsis Orchids, Longwood Gardens,
Kennett Square, Pennsylvania USA IMG 6848
Canon PowerShot G11 Camera
Photograph by Roy Kelley
Roy and Dolores Kelley Photographs
Comments(33)