Lisa Carey and her son Ben gave talk at Rotary Club of Scenic 7.Fourth grader, Ben Carey, explained to the members of the Rotary Club of Scenic 7 about his previous ear drum replacement and his repeat procedure set for this November or December.
Carey suffered from a cholesteatoma, a type of skin cyst in the middle ear. Carey suffered from a perforation of his ear drum as a toddler and the result was the cholesteatoma causing a growing hole in his ear drum and hearing loss.
Carey’s family took him to see several doctors and was diagnosed with ear infections. His aunt, an audiologist, told the family to keep looking because there was something more serious going on. Carey was losing his hearing as well as suffering from ear pain and fluid discharge.
After seeing many doctors his family finally found out he had a cholesteatoma and there was only one doctor in Arkansas that could fix the problem, Dr. John Dickins, an otolaryngologist in Little Rock. Carey was in elementary school when Dr. Dickins finally entered the picture. He was told he was going to have to wait until he was 12 for ear drum replacement to fix the problem. The delay was to keep Carey from having to repeat the procedure as his body grew.
Carey decided, at age eight, he didn’t want to wait any longer. He and his mother, Lisa Carey, went in to see Dr. Dickins to ask if he could move the surgery up. Carey wanted to live like other boys his age and wanted to fix the ongoing problem. Carey had just starred in The Music Man as one of Winthrops at the Woodlands Auditorium in the Village and had returned from a trip to visit family in Kansas when he decided to see Dr. Dickins again. As it turned out, it was a good thing he had decided to see the doctor, his ear drum had separated and his life was at risk. The cholesteatoma was in danger of moving into his brain and killing him.
Dr. Dickins agreed to do Carey’s surgery as soon as possible when Carey was only eight years old. The surgery was a success. The only sign Carey had surgery was a small scar behind his ear where the doctor removed cartilage to rebuild his ear drum. He returned to Jessieville and the normal life of an active eight year old. He was scheduled for annual visits to Dr. Dickins.
This year Carey was ten and Dr. Dickins discovered the hole in his ear drum was back. He will have to repeat the surgery toward the end of this year. The delay in surgery is because it was also discovered Carey has multiple allergies causing repeated sinus infections. Carey has now been tested for allergies and has started weekly shots to build up his resistence.
Carey is prepared for his surgery and brought his own list of questions in to go over with Dr. Dickins prior to the surgery. Carey was concerned about the pain he suffered when returning home from surgery in Little Rock the last time out. Dr. Dickins agreed with Carey that his trip home was a lot further away than most of his patients and he would increase the amount of pain medication to get him home comfortably post surgery.
Carey was also concerned with his singing. He wants to be a rock star one day and didn’t want the procedure to endanger that possibility. Dr. Dickins reassured his young patient that the surgery would in the long run help to make Carey’s dream possible.
Rotarians thanked the young man for his earnest and informative talk. The Rotary Club of Scenic 7 meets Thursday’s at noon at the Boys and Girls Club on Highway 7. Attendees are invited to bring a brown bag lunch for lunch at 11:30 p.m.
Carey suffered from a cholesteatoma, a type of skin cyst in the middle ear. Carey suffered from a perforation of his ear drum as a toddler and the result was the cholesteatoma causing a growing hole in his ear drum and hearing loss.
Carey’s family took him to see several doctors and was diagnosed with ear infections. His aunt, an audiologist, told the family to keep looking because there was something more serious going on. Carey was losing his hearing as well as suffering from ear pain and fluid discharge.
After seeing many doctors his family finally found out he had a cholesteatoma and there was only one doctor in Arkansas that could fix the problem, Dr. John Dickins, an otolaryngologist in Little Rock. Carey was in elementary school when Dr. Dickins finally entered the picture. He was told he was going to have to wait until he was 12 for ear drum replacement to fix the problem. The delay was to keep Carey from having to repeat the procedure as his body grew.
Carey decided, at age eight, he didn’t want to wait any longer. He and his mother, Lisa Carey, went in to see Dr. Dickins to ask if he could move the surgery up. Carey wanted to live like other boys his age and wanted to fix the ongoing problem. Carey had just starred in The Music Man as one of Winthrops at the Woodlands Auditorium in the Village and had returned from a trip to visit family in Kansas when he decided to see Dr. Dickins again. As it turned out, it was a good thing he had decided to see the doctor, his ear drum had separated and his life was at risk. The cholesteatoma was in danger of moving into his brain and killing him.
Dr. Dickins agreed to do Carey’s surgery as soon as possible when Carey was only eight years old. The surgery was a success. The only sign Carey had surgery was a small scar behind his ear where the doctor removed cartilage to rebuild his ear drum. He returned to Jessieville and the normal life of an active eight year old. He was scheduled for annual visits to Dr. Dickins.
This year Carey was ten and Dr. Dickins discovered the hole in his ear drum was back. He will have to repeat the surgery toward the end of this year. The delay in surgery is because it was also discovered Carey has multiple allergies causing repeated sinus infections. Carey has now been tested for allergies and has started weekly shots to build up his resistence.
Carey is prepared for his surgery and brought his own list of questions in to go over with Dr. Dickins prior to the surgery. Carey was concerned about the pain he suffered when returning home from surgery in Little Rock the last time out. Dr. Dickins agreed with Carey that his trip home was a lot further away than most of his patients and he would increase the amount of pain medication to get him home comfortably post surgery.
Carey was also concerned with his singing. He wants to be a rock star one day and didn’t want the procedure to endanger that possibility. Dr. Dickins reassured his young patient that the surgery would in the long run help to make Carey’s dream possible.
Rotarians thanked the young man for his earnest and informative talk. The Rotary Club of Scenic 7 meets Thursday’s at noon at the Boys and Girls Club on Highway 7. Attendees are invited to bring a brown bag lunch for lunch at 11:30 p.m.
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