The Popcorn-ectomy

This is a kernel of unpopped popcorn.

This is where it is supposed to go:

This is where my son tried to put the popcorn, but it fell out. (Pictured: little sister)

This is where my son successfully put the popcorn. And then pushed it in. Really, really far.

Needless to say, after trying to pry the tiny kernel out of the depths of his ear with various tools at home, we took him to the ER. Now, I probably would have waited until Monday morning, except that we had been waiting for him to get surgery on his ears and throat. He was supposed to get tubes in his ears and have his tonsils and adenoids removed. I was worried that the kernel would set off an infection in his ear and it would push his surgery back even further, so off to the ER we went.

We spent 6 hours in the ER. It breaks down like this:

I felt awful during the whole thing and even worse after it was over, because in the end, nobody could get that darn kernel out. Ben was exhausted and so was I: it was midnight by the time we got home.

So, the next day we marched over to his ear, nose and throat doctor, who declared his ears infected (cue: groan from me). But, he decided to fast-track Ben into surgery, so on Tuesday, April 1st, he had his adenoids and tonsils removed and tubes put in his ears, but most importantly, he had a popcorn-ectomy. The doctor didn’t save the kernel.

Oh — here’s the reason Ben gave me for why he put the popcorn kernel in his ear: “Because it didn’t fit in Maya’s ear.” Of course!

[LunaPic was used to edit these photos]