Totally TUBE-ular!

Three years ago,on her seventh birthday, Reagan had surgery to have her adenoids out and tubes put in her ears.  At that time, her doctor said the ear tubes would naturally fall out at about one-year post surgery. Just like anything else she’s done with her life, Reagan (or rather her ear drums) decided to be difficult and her tubes didn’t fall out after one year.

At her second year check-up post surgery, Dr. Neil noticed that one tube had fallen out completely, but the tube in her right ear was still in the ear canal.  Dr. Neil could have taken it out with a special instrument, but even though it had fallen out of her ear drum, it had become embedded in the dead skin and wax in her ear.  To remove it would do two things:  1) hurt Reagan unnecessarily, and 2) would create a wound in her ear canal, so he left it and told us that eventually it would “grow” to the end of her ear canal with the wax and we would be able to get it then.

It has been so long, I figured that the tube had fallen out somewhere and we just weren’t going to see it.  Well, it turns out I was wrong.  Today week, Reagan was reading at school, and the tube fell out of her ear, landing on her book.  I am amazed at three things – 1) She managed NOT to lose it and it made it home from school with her; 2)  That it took three full years to actually fall out; and 3) How small the tube actually is!

This is a normal size (8-1/2 x 11″) piece of notebook paper.  That tube is minuscule!