The Screaming of the Lambs

Ken's had the flu all week and has been totally miserable. He's been in bed every night this week by ~8 and still is achey and miserable. We were supposed to go to some friends' house for Valentine's dinner, but we had to cancel. I picked up some gingerale for Ken at the store and figured I might as well pick up something tasty for dinner since Ken has no appetite. (Note: Ken not eating with me usually means I get to eat some wonderfully stinky cheese). So across the street I walked to pick up dinner. The butcher recommended a a grass-fed steak of beef which I ate with some rice, Humboldt Fog goat cheese and a glass of carmenere (a red wine recommended by a colleague at work). It was all awesome. I watched a little Kenny vs. Spenny and went to bed.

Until I was awoken to the sound of Ken screaming in the other room.

Painful screaming.

It was 5 am.

Turns out he was having a lot of pressure and pain in his right ear. We looked up online what to do -- antibiotics or decongestants. Decongestants were the winner; gave him some and he milled around for a bit before coming back to bed. He seemed fine in the morning but I got a call a few minutes to 10 am, telling me that he was going to the emergency room. Blood was coming from his right ear.

I met him in the ER (since I work right next to it). Turns out he has a bulbous meditis or some condition that sounds like it. Basically, he has an ear infection where his eardrum is covered in small bulbous sacks of pus and blood. Everytime one bursts, out rushes the bloody ooze. The doctor said it usually caused by a bacterial infection, probably not helped by the fact that Ken's immune system is already in full gear fighting his flu. The doctor gave him some ear drops to help with the pain and put him on some heavy duty antibiotics for the next couple days. Since there's nothing I can do to help him (he said he's just going to be lying down or working -- he's swamped at work), I came back to work. I know he's fine but I'm still a bit distracted. I'm just glad they figured out what was wrong with him.