Gratitude (sorry, it's a long one)

I was all set to get on here and express my gratitude for the various people/things in my life, but I'm going to switch gears and do a few specifics instead. This year I'm getting a crash course in being thankful after-the-fact for things I usually take for granted. Case in point? My hearing.

Right now I'm sitting here, my left ear swollen completely shut and incredibly sore. The pain has spread from my ear to my head, teeth, and throat, and I've taken seven lortab and about 2000 mg of ibuprofen since this morning.

This started late Tuesday night. My left ear got plugged up, and I was unable to hear. I knew what the problem was, so on Wednesday I went to the doctor and got both ears irrigated. (The tubes in my ears are very tiny, so every few years I have to get them flushed out. Ew, I know.) After the procedure, my ear was sore, but since I had tried a number of ear drops and it had been so plugged up, I figured that was natural and thought it would feel better soon. They didn't give me antibiotics or anything like last time, so I thought I was good to go.

Thursday was actually a pretty great day, all things considered. I got to spend the day with my wonderful family, and I have the best parents, sister and brother-in-law, and nieces and nephews there are. My ear was really sore, and it hurt to chew and swallow (which is one way not to overeat on Thanksgiving!), but Richard was really good about putting drops in my ears and trying to help me however he could.

Then when we got home last night, the pain kicked up a notch. I took some Nyquil to try to help me sleep (I'm usually out for 10-12 hours with Nyquil) and slept with a heating pad on my ear. I woke up after 3 hours to find my ear nearly swollen shut. Unable to sleep, I opted to try soaking my ears in a warm bath, but that didn't help. Instead, my ear then swelled completely shut,probably with water still inside, and I couldn't take the pain anymore. Richard took me to the ER, thinking maybe they'd tell me I had an infection or I'd shattered my ear drum or something.

Nope, nothing like that. I was told there was no infection, just to take some Lortab and Ibuprofin and wait for the swelling to go down.

I know this doesn't sound like anything major, and I admit, compared to things like my sister's surgery to remove the tumor or things of that nature, it isn't. But for me it's a struggle. I hate not being able to hear anything. I'm a complete baby with pain, and though I'm trying to be a brave lil soldier, this thing hurts like hell.

So here's where the gratitude part kicks in. I'm thankful it's only temporary (I really really hope). I'm very thankful for Richard's eternal patience for me and for his willingness to spend the weekend he's been looking forward to for months taking care of me instead of doing the things we'd originally planned. I'm thankful for his kindness, because he hasn't told me shut up, even though I'm pretty sure I've told him about three thousand times so far that I hurt. :)

I'm thankful for my family, for doing what they can to help. And mostly, I'm thankful that both ears aren't acting this way. I'm so grateful I can hear out of the other one and that it doesn't hurt at all.

So if you're kind of struggling this year about what to be thankful for... start with the parts of your body that are working correctly without causing you pain!