Surgery During Lent

I've known for a couple of months now that I needed surgery. At my last visit with my regular doctor -- for a lingering cold -- I asked him to look at various little spots on my body to tell me if there was anything to be concerned about. It was "no...no...that's just a freckle...no..." when almost as an afterthought, I asked him to look inside my left ear. There was a funny bump there, but since I could only feel it but not see it, I hadn't really thought much about it. He only said..."Hmmm. That's something." It turns out that it was a basal cell carcinoma, and I went in yesterday for the surgery to remove it. I should say right away that since this was in my left ear, I was not particularly worried -- I am completely deaf in my left ear, and have been since an infection when I was 4 yrs. old, so I wasn't at all concerned about any effect on my hearing.

They used a procedure called a Mohs surgery, which I guess is usually simple enough. They remove a couple of slices of skin, until they think they have the tumor, and then they look under the microscope to be sure. They often have to go back for a second even a third removal, to make sure they have everything. In my case, the location of the tumor was inside my left year, at the begining of the ear canal but not past the ear drum -- an area where the skin itself isn't very deep, as it runs into cartilage very quickly. It was difficult to get at, and the tumor was a little larger (deeper) than originally thought.

The upshot of the whole thing is that since they removed a somewhat large area (about a quarter's size in area) they decided it was best to graft skin, from behind the ear, onto the area of the surgery, to protect the area and the ear canal itself. Well...

Two hours and about 80 stiches later, I emerged from the office with a huge bandage on my ear and left side of my head. Even with my ear numbed, I ached, I was really tired, and I knew the numbness in my ear was going to wear off soon. I got home, took a pain pill (Vicodin), and began cancelling things -- my role in the evening JustFaith meeting, my morning appointment, my scheduled on-call at Children's Tuesday night, even my bowling date on Thursday (that's the one I really regret; but "nothing even moderately strenuous for a week"). So now I'm at home, ON MY DAY OFF, looking like a dork with this bandage, and feeling the pain welling up again.

When you're lying there and they're stitching you up (for two hours), with the numbness you thankfully can't really feel sharp pain, but you do feel the needle going in, and the pulling of your skin when they're pulling things tight. It's not comfortable, and not for the squeamish, and I know I moaned a couple of times near the end. So anyway, somewhere along the line I started quietly saying the rosary.

I did about 12-13 decades, maybe more. I know I lost count several times, but I'm sure that was OK. I wasn't in pain, but there was a strong aching, that increased over time...somebody can only poke and pull at the same spot only so long before you really get worn out. It certainly wasn't the most devout or prayerful rosary I've ever prayed, but it did help connect me with those who were no doubt suffering far worse than I was (or ever will, I'm pretty sure).

So, it was a good Lent experience -- a completely unexpected one. I'm sure that plenty of people in Japan and Lybia have it far worse, that folks we tortured after the invasion of Iraq had it far worse, and that even children & families that I visit at Children's Hospital, close to home, have it far worse. But maybe I'm a little closer to them today. I hope so.