So, my mom is here and all the kids are in bed, so I thought I would take the opportunity to write a quick post. One thing I've been wanting to tell you about is the nurse that was with us during my labor with Cooper. I checked in at 11pm and the nurse that was on for the night shift was not great. But at 7am, when the next nurse took over, I was very glad. She was great. As soon as I told her that I was nauseous, she went and got me meds. (Now I have no idea why the night nurse didn't tell me that I could have meds for that considering that is why I got NO sleep the entire night. Some sleep definitely would have helped with the whole labor thing.)
Anyway, as she was getting me all squared away, I noticed her left ear. I could definitely tell that it had been reconstructed. So, I said, "Do you mind if I ask you what happened to your ear"? She said, "No, not at all", and proceeded to tell me that she was born without her left ear. Huh. Crazy.
So I told her that my daughter was born without her left ear, too. We had my laptop there, so Tom pulled up a picture of Harlie's ear and showed it to her. She said that is exactly what her ear looked like, too. So, we had a long conversation about it. She was wearing her hair up and said that she didn't care anymore. She said that she had many surgeries (more than 10!) to give her an ear canal and ear but ear reconstruction is very difficult. It is almost impossible to get the ear to sit off the head. It ends up being really flat against your head. And the ear canal didn't really work, either. Granted, she had her surgeries almost 20 years ago. But, still, I know that the results haven't improved much. Which is why we're going to start with a prosthetic ear and wait until Harlie gets older and has her own opinion about what she wants to do.
Anyway, it was comforting to hear how she feels about herself and that she doesn't let her ear (or lack thereof) bother her at all. I just loved how she wore her hair up. I am really hoping that Harlie will be the same way - about all of the things that make her, well, her.
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2 comments:
That was an inspiring story..how well this nurse coped with her situation over these years..With the way Harlie has all those precious curls in the back of her head...And...her wonderful attitude about life..her ear will probably never be a priority...I think she will be a little girls that handles all her situations will calmness and gratitude for what she has...she has been taught respect and tolerance at a young age.
I'm always impressed when fate deals a hand like pairing you up with that nurse. What a wonderful gift for you to hear her story! And to think that she could easily have been assigned to another patient. Harlie is going to do great in life that much we know! But I can imagine how nice it is to see an adult with the same issue and see how it's really NOT an issue.
I was excited to find your blog through the baby page. I hope I can assume you weren't trying to keep it secret and it's okay to add it to Ainsley's friends on her blog. Let me know if you prefer I don't.
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