My son needs surgery.

Not planned surgery but that kind of kick-in-the-gut surprise surgery that is halfway between, sure okay and It’s An Emergency.

The Long of It

If you’ve followed my blog or podcast since 2005-2006, then you know that my younger son was born with Microtia—a not-as-rare-as-you’d-think condition that gave him a very small ear and no ear canal on the right side, but a working middle and inner ear.

Back in 2008 we had Medpor surgery and I blogged about it here (and will blog updates there on this adventure, too). With Medpor, a surgical plastic form is placed and covered with a skin graft and then it magically (really, it looks like magic) molds itself to the form ¡et voilÃ¡! Insta-ear. It’s amazing. Later we had a canal added and, yes, he can hear now on that side.

However. At some point that plastic frame started to poke out of the back of his ear. We only caught it at the beginning of this month and I let the surgeon know last week. He let me know we had to get into surgery asap or—and this is the scary part—if the plastic has been exposed for too long they will have to Remove It And Start Over.

We’re happy to see our surgeon again (he’s fabulous) but it’s the difference between a 2-1/2 hr surgery and an 8-1/2+ hr surgery. Plus if we start over it means more skin grafts, another 115 stitches, and recovery right as school is starting. I know you parents know how much your heart aches when your child is in a new-school situation (which he is, knows no one at the new school) and that it’s even worse when something about your child is “different.” We’re hoping the bandages from his surgery will be off and his swelling will be down so it won’t be too bad.

* * *

So why am I writing about this here on my knitting blog?

Because we need help.

Working from home and taking care of the kids has made it impossible to try to track down a “real” job (plus, finding jobs for teachers with 10+ yrs of experience is a tad tricky in this economy) and four people on one income in the third most expensive area of the country has been…ah… challenging. Nonetheless, from my home office I’ve been blessed to be able to write patterns, edit and design for the Defarge books, teach online classes (sign-up links are in the left sidebar), teach around the country, and offer extras to my Subscriber-Supporters over at my CraftLit podcast. It’s been nice, but it’s not a living. And making “a living” would have made this surgery thing a lot less scary.

Friends in LA and the good people of CraftLit and Cooperative Press have helped us with gifts of housing and airfare, but I’ll still need to feed the kids, purchase Thing 2’s post-surgery meds, and get to and from the surgery while in LA (not to mention the further specter of going through a whole replacement surgery). So, to raise funds for the trip and any other “surprises” that get thrown our way, I thought I’d host a sale and more! (Thank you, Tara!) There are lots of ways to help that get you something nifty, too! For example, you could:

And even if you don’t purchase any patterns or become a sponsor, I want to thank you for heading over here to see what’s going on. If you’re willing to Facebook or Tweet this page to anyone who might be interested in the above I would deeply appreciate it. All I can offer as a thank you is my free podcasts—and for non-knitters you’d probably prefer Just the Books, the sister show to CraftLit (all the lit with none of the craft), in case you might enjoy sticking a good book in your ear when your hands are busy doing something else. Gulliver’s Travels starts at episode 249 both on Just the Books and CraftLit and we’re almost at Part IV (the final part). If you start now, you may catch up before we’re home from the surgery!

And the next book is Jane Eyre.

Regardless the reason, here you are. You came and read, and for that I am truly grateful.

Right now I’m particularly grateful to the many pattern purchasers (hope you enjoy!) and also for the direct support of:

Andi

Shannon

Kate

Erica

Renee

Kathleen

Stephannie

Annie

Alasdair

Elizabeth

Anna

Jaala

Hunter

Donna

Elly

Hayes

Jane Susan

Jessica

Joanne

Kathy

Kate

Fiona

Sydney

Jennifer

Kristine

Jillian

Kate

Helen

Lorelei

Amanda

Sarah

Sally

Victoria

Elseline

Dee & Mike

Julia

Elesha

Carmen

Dixie

Nicola

neil

katrina

Rebecca

Phyllis

Janet

Kimberly

Cassandra

Virginia

Pauline Lauren

Heidi

Deborah

Diane

Catherine

Duranee

Anne

Laura

Merrie

Lisa

Lauren

Linda

Rebekah

Scott

Ulana

Alison

Kitty

Katie

Thomas

Cassandra

Laura-Lynn and Phil

Catherine

CraftingGrandma

Marjorie

Kelie

Zoya

Bill

Pam

Joseph

Shannon

Sasha

Linda

Sarah

Gretchen

Lene

Heather

Sonia

The early responders made me weep with relief last week when the light at the end of the tunnel looked like an oncoming train.

You who have joined in this week have let me sleep at night. Truly. Thank you more than I can say.