Swimmer's Ear + Pain = No Sleep

There is a moral to this sad story. Just endure this mother's pitiful ramblings for a few minutes, please. Kady came into our room Tuesday night saying her ears hurt. I checked her for a fever and found none. I thought maybe she had an ear infection, but she had not had a cold, runny nose, cough, etc. Then she started telling me that it hurt to touch her ears. I wondered at that point - 3 or 4 AM - if she was getting swimmer's ear. So - after some Tylenol - we got a little more sleep and headed to the doctor the next morning.
The Dr. checked her out and yes, we had swimmer's ear. It wasn't too bad. Just the redness, no pus or discharge and no inner ear infection. So - we got some anti-bacterial drops and headed home. That night, was rough, but she slept some. On Thursday, she was complaining that her ears still hurt and was crying most of the day. She went in her room and played her vsmile quite a bit and was just not happy. Well - everything I had read about this wonderful ailment said that swimmer's ear was VERY painful and so I just assumed we needed to tough it out.
Thursday night came and Kady was still miserable. She was crying and upset and just could not get settled down. I gave her all the pain meds I could and then realized she felt VERY warm. Took her temp and now, not only was she in pain, but also running a fever of about 101 even with ibuprofen in here. So - I slept in the chair and she "slept" on the couch. We'd give her meds and she would fall asleep and then wake up about 2 hours later wanting more. And - we could not give her more for about 2 more hours. So - we would be in pain for 2 more hours, take some meds, get a little sleep and the cycle continued. At about 3:30 AM she finally feel asleep until morning.
Then - Friday morning she woke up and said she was fine. She said her ears just hurt a little bit and so I thought maybe the drops were working their magic and we were on the mend. I was wrong - about 9:30 AM we were in pain again and the fever returned. I called the Dr and they got her right in. Chris came and took a very upset little girl to the Dr.
Well - I won't go into the Dr. visit too much except to say that our little girl still has a VERY high pain tolerance and we had ignored that fact when it came to this situation. She was in more pain than we realized. Her swimmer's ear had advanced to the point that her ear canals were so swollen that the medication could not reach it's destination and she had now developed a secondary, VERY painful infection. So, the Dr told Chris that she had to do what was next, and was VERY sorry. She put what is called wicks in Kady's ears. It was VERY painful.
So, on Friday afternoon, we stocked up at the Pharmacy on Tylenol with codeine (did I say she was in pain), augmentin, and another set of ear drops. And we have a little girl that cannot hear anything we say to her - remember her ears are "stopped up" with cotton wicks. We have been yelling and watching the TV VERY loudly around here the last few days.
Friday night was again ROUGH and Saturday was a little better. Today has been better, except one of the wicks has gotten "filled" up with the blood and discharge that was inside the ear and is not allowing the medication to get down the swollen ear canal. It has also "crept" down the canal a little ways, so it is wedged in there a bit. So, we called the Dr. and she told us that we were to soak the wick with drops and move it slightly to allow the medication to seep back down the ear canal. Easier said than done even with pain meds in the child. But, it has been done.
So - at this point - we have removed one wick since it was falling out (That is good, it means that ear canal is not swollen anymore) and the other is at a point the medication can hopefully continue to do it's work. So, no more lip reading for Kady. We go back to the doctor in the morning to see what she plans to do with the other ear. On Friday, she had planned to remove the wick for good, but since the ear is still swollen at this point and showing signs of continued discharge, we will see what she wants to do.
So, let me make a suggestion. Don't let your child swim in non-chlorinated swim water that has been sitting outside in the heat. It just doesn't turn out well - trust me.