Whew, what a day! I just spent the last 3 days in Louisiana, and I’m glad to be back. Monday (which was Labor Day, an American holiday) I flew to New Orleans, then rented a car and drove to Baton Rouge. Tuesday I had an appointment with my ear surgeon in the afternoon, and in the evening I met with 3 other patients (I call us the Baton Rouge Inner Ear Club). Then today, I drove back to New Orleans and then flew back home. Lots of travel all for a 1 hour checkup with the doc!
Everything’s in good shape with my ear, though, and now Dr. Gianoli just wants me to visit whenever I’m in the area. Could be a year from now, or more or less. I can always call or email him if anything weird comes up, but my ear’s in good shape. I like that approach, since it’s definitely not easy or cheap getting there. Like I said, I spent 2 days of mostly travel plus a 3rd day, all for a 60 minute checkup. The hearing test shows my hearing is good in both ears (actually a little better on the side that he operated on, I think). And at this point, 8 months after my surgery, the scar is so faint you can barely see it.
So, to celebrate, Beth and I went to Sushi Mara for supper tonight. Kinda weird having such different fish dishes today. My lunch was a catfish po boy in New Orleans, and my supper was raw salmon in Lafayette, Colorado. Speaking of which, I met someone while I was down there who is from Lafayette, Louisiana!
You should make a sign that reads, “Will travel for fish.”
Hi there Todd,
I think I’ve met you on the SCDS forums, but just wanted to stop by and say “hi” from a fellow SCDS surgical repair person. I am now about 3 weeks post op. I feel really blessed that we had expertise here locally so that I did not have to travel across the country like you did. I live in Seattle and my doc is Dick Hoistad, MD and he said he is friends with Dr. G and he has also trained with Dr. Timothy Hain in Chicago.
Chris
Hi, Chris. I hope you’re recovering well from your surgery. Thought it wasn’t ideal, I really didn’t mind traveling to Louisiana to get worked on by Dr. Gianoli. He’s so awesome that it was worth the extra effort and expense.