Help Katie find relief from years of pain!

My name is Carol Madsen, and I am fundraising for Katie Plott. I’ve known Katie since she was in high school. Katie is nothing short of amazing!

This talented and vivacious young woman has been struggling for 13 years with constant ear infections, eardrum bursts, a large permanent hole in my ear drum that can’t heal. Because this hole has been there for 13 years, she is never able to get her ear wet. It causes vertigo, pain, inflammation, and hearing loss. Katie has only 15% hearing in her right ear. The surgery will repair the hole and hopefully stop the infections, eardrum bursts, vertigo and help with the hearing loss.

This next part is all about the surgeries that she needs, and is filled with medical jargon…Tympanoplasty and mastoidectomy, together known as a tympanomastoidectomy, are two surgical procedures often performed at the same time on a patient’s ear to control chronic infection and restore hearing. Mastoidectomy is typically required for patients with middle ear infections (chronic otitis media – COM), a long-standing infection affecting the middle ear and frequently accompanied by cholesteatoma (a destructive, non-cancerous skin cyst) or an unhealed eardrum perforation. This infection, if left untreated, can spread into the skull, as well as cause significant hearing loss, dizziness, and brain erosion.

Tympanoplasty is the surgical procedure which restores and/or retains hearing. During the tympanoplasty, the surgeon will graft the tympanic membrane (eardrum) and reconstruct the middle ear. A prosthetic device may need to be implanted to replace the ossicles (middle ear bones) that have been damaged by infection.”

Please help my friend, Katie Plott!