Brain’s Daughter Suffers Strange Injury

Just when you think you've seen it all as a parent, a new situation grabs you and says "get ready for THIS!" I picked up my youngest daughter Cayleigh from school yesterday and she was her normal, chatty self. In just 20 minutes I'd have her at urgent care seeking medical care.

The girls were in their room playing when I heard Cayleigh crying. She came out in the living room and said that her ear hurt. I asked her why her ear hurt and she said it was because she "couldn't find earring."  I asked her if it had fallen out and she said no, it was still "inside." That's when I saw the bloody kleenex and started to worry. It turns out her earring had gotten pushed in through the hole in her ear and was now stuck inside. She was screaming for me to get it out. I calmed her down and took a look. I could barely see the outline of the earring inside her ear. I told her I could try to get it out, but it would hurt. We both agreed heading to the doctor was our best bet.

At the doctor's office, they assured me this was much more common than you think. They said they see a case or two of the same situation every month. I held Cayleigh on my lap, and the doctor numbed her ear. That required a shot, and that required screaming and tears. But the worst was over. The doctor then used various tools to bring the earring back out of the hole, and then cut it out. It was a good thing I brought her in because the earring fell apart as the doctor was removing it. I might not have been able to get a smaller piece out and that could have led to bigger problems. They wrapped her head up pretty good to keep pressure on the wound in an effort to avoid her getting cauliflower ear. I didn't think I'd have to explain THAT to my daughter yesterday.

So, she'll miss school today but Cayleigh and her ear will make a full recovery. She'll only have one earring in for awhile, but I assured her that was O.K. She'll be a trendsetter.