It seemed that every time Elizabeth had to go for the doctor for anything, like a sore

throat, cough, or fever, the doctors always checked her ears and told us that she had

an ear infection. She never complained that her ear was even hurting. The doctor

would put her on antibiotics and she would go through the 10 days of medicine. She

continued this for about a year, only ever saying that her ear was always itching.

She never ran a fever. She never acted differently. We took her to her pediatrician,

Dr. Juan Ferreris, and he made a referral to the CHRISTUS Children's- Ear, Nose and

Throat suggesting to let them check her ear out and see what could be the issue.

We met with Dr. Clayton Farahani, DO who was a pediatric otolaryngologist and they

evaluated Elizabeth's ear. Again, the doctors reported that her ear was infected,

possibly had a fungus, or even cholesteatoma. Lizzie did some more drops then

went back for a follow up visit. While there, the team evaluated her ear and while

looking inside noticed something odd. They were able to pull out a piece of waxy

earplug that had been pushed inside where debris kept getting caught on the outside of it causing

the thoughts that her ear kept getting infected After removing the ear plug, the doctor suggested further testing to see if there was any further damage to Lizzie's ear. The testing showed that Lizzie had a hole in her ear drum that was going to be attempted to heal with time and drops to remove any fungus that could have been getting caught. As the process continued, Lizzie's hearing in the right ear started to get worse. Dr. Farahani suggested surgery to repair the hole and repair any additional damage that was caused. She had surgery in April, 2024. The team at Christus Children's Hospital repaired the hole and reconstructed her ear drum that had been damaged throughout the continuous issues with her ear. 

 

Her hearing is not fully back, but over time the doctors are hopeful that it will improve. Dr. Farahani said that considering all that her ear went through, her hearing in that ear is what is to be expected. Elizabeth has made a full recovery with the slight setback, and we are so blessed and thankful for the team of doctors, nurses, and staff that has gotten us through this lengthy process to get her ear healed to where it is today.