When It Rains, It Pours

In my life, nothing is ever simple or easy. And if it is, it's cause for suspicion!

So, it's no surprise that my recent visit to the doctor has landed me a trip to the OR. The timing, as always, is impeccable.
(Rain coming down in buckets, right?)
My stupid (I despise the thing!) salivary gland is not going to be an easy fix. Because I have recurrent infection and a history of multiple salivary gland stones that were unusually large, the doctor said I need to have the entire gland removed. Upon palpation, he was able to feel multiple stones still in the gland. Because of that, the gland has got to go!

The surgery usually involves an incision on the neck, just below the jawline but this doctor is wonderful and is going to make sure I don't end up with a big, ugly scar. He's going to do the surgery from inside my mouth, making an incision under my tongue instead. It will take a bit longer and will have a more uncomfortable recovery for me, but there won't be a scar and there is less risk of nerve damage.
But wait... it gets better.

While I'm having surgery to remove my gland, I also get to have surgery to repair my ear drum. Yay! (Can you hear my sarcasm?)

A second doctor will remove tissue from my outer ear and use it to make a patch over the large hole in my ear drum. It's called tympanoplasty. The last ENT I saw wanted to do the surgery by making an incision along the outside of my ear, from the top of my ear straight down to the lobe. This doctor is doing it all through the ear canal though. No scar!

Why now? Why not wait? The only reason I'm going ahead with the surgeries now is because I have the chance to get both done at once, meaning only one recovery. In addition, both of these doctors are making sure I have no scars. There is no guarantee that I'll get so lucky with the Army doctors in Washington. And I can just get it over with now instead of risking another salivary gland infection between now and when Jason gets home.
On July 9th, I'll be going under the knife for 4 hours of fun and excitement. Thank goodness they are knocking me out. I need to be knocked out right about now.