Cholesteatoma.

The word sounds like the latest night time sleep aid/cholesterol lowering pill. "Take one at bedtime and wake rested and healthy. Side effects include nausea, blurred vision, cramps, general malaise, migraines, warts, swelling of the tongue, hairy back, night sweats, peptic ulcers, irritable bowel syndrome, and a scorching case of shingles. Rapid toenail growth and yellow teeth should be reported to your mother immediately. " If that were the worst we were facing how much easier would this be?

Cholesteatoma is an abnormal growth of skin cells behind the ear drum that basically destroys the healthy bones of the inner ear and sometimes threatens the brain. Left untreated, it can be fatal. Today we found out that Anslee has this condition.

The good news is that it can be treated (through surgery) especially when caught early on. This seems to be the case. Now we face the unsavory prospect of not just one surgery, but two; one to remove the tumor, the next to restore some of her hearing.

As my wife would say, "This is where the rubber meets the road on faith." Don't tell her I said so, but I think she's right.

What else can I do? This is a time when things are so far out of my control and still so uncertain that the most productive thing I can do is put it in the perspective of God's love and care. God loves my daughter. Whatever happens, does so under His protection and care. And that's that.

Meanwhile, she seems to be trotting right along - aggravating her sisters, torturing the cats, and plotting her usual brand of early morning mayhem.

Lately, she's been fond of sneaking out of her room early, early, early in the morning and moving with pillow and sleeping bag in tow into the utility room. By the time everyone else gets up, she's long set up camp in front of the cat box. Often, she'll feed the cats their special treats until they barf on the rug. Or, she'll fix her own cereal, find Spongebob on T.V. then spill milk on the rug in the den. Of course she prefers to have accomplices so she tries to wake her sisters. That does not usually go over very well. Especially at 3:24 a.m.