Miracles do happen!

First bit of happy news all week. As late as 4 AM today, my ear was still clogged. When I awoke, I went to the bathroom and saw my neighbor there who asked how my hearing was. I realized that my hearing was actually a good deal clearer. Encouraged by this, I took my medication and then walked outside to get some breakfast. As I did, I performed the Valsalva maneuver (holding shut the nostrils and mouth and then using the cheek muscles to gently force air into the middle ear). This never did anything last night, but today there was a sudden, loud pop and I could hear again!

Mom was praying to St. Jude for a quick recovery. Considering that the prognosis for my condition (otitis media with effusion / serous otitis media) was three weeks to three months, the fact that it cleared in 6 days, just in time for my flight to the funeral, is nothing short of miraculous. I'm not the most spiritual person around, and I tend to be skeptical of spiritual healing, but I think I am being forced into a paradigm shift. :-)