Ezra's Ears aren't plastic! They're for real. Honest.

Ezra loves his new plastic-surgeried-up ears. Wish I had a before pic but that would be a little cruel as Ezra is fond of saying. He had no folds in his ears to give them shape or the ability to fall neatly to the side of his head...as a result - perp ears ! (perpendicular to the head ears :) Some kids, including us kids, find the term PLASTIC surgery a bit misleading...I mean Ezra's ears certainly have a plastic perfect look about them...no plastic was used in the creation of your new ears Ezra - I promise said Nancy the plastic surgeon ( I guess we should trust her?).  Some medical someone or other I read about said that plastic means flexible - able to change...how very flexible of you Ezra.


The plastic surgeon - Nancy - who Robert-knew-from-Highschool-Nancy, did a fantastic job creating folds and now look at them! He is a happy boykie. When the nurse and Nancy took off his bandage - the one he had to wear for a week afterwards, and we finally saw them, I said wow Ezra, they're beautiful ! Ezra started to laugh, then uncontrollably laugh, then started to laugh/cry...with tears streaming down his face - "I'm freeeee" he said, it feels so gooood he said, they feel so naked...he said. We all began to pass the box of kleenex. After a careful bath and blowdryat home, we checked them out in the mirror, and despite some leftover iodine and the stitches, oh, and the raised scars, Ezra thought they looked like "real ears!".

Now just 5 more weeks of constant toque wearing - to sustain that cartilege memory, and he is free...to wear hats a lot maybe - like a retainer after dental work..? He doesn't want to have to go through this all over again. Though, Ezra said, its not so bad as kids in Haiti, they have to live with their ears no matter what.

Ezra's Earz : nipped and tucked

Ezra and I are playing "Loaded Questions"...in our family we usually play games for 5 reasons and five  reasons alone: we are camping or driving forever somewhere (florida, BC), during Christmas holidays, when grandparents visit, when someone is sick, or after someone has plastic surgery. (haha)

Ez had plastic surgery yesterday (thursday) on his "earsies" as I am known to call them. Otoplasty. Yes, Ezra has his very own Plastic surgeon, we call her Nancy. It was indeed a little day spa for the ears - he has no natural folds in his ears as most people do, and as folds help keep the ear somewhat flat to the head, Ezra's ears were literally perpedicular to his head. If you looked at him sideways you would not see an ear but the side of a red fleshy disc. He was once called elephant ears. He remembers this. We grow his hair longer so it covers his ears. He, thankfully, doesn't get teased by kids he knows, but only by kids that he doesn't.

Two nights before the big OP he said that he has to remember the next day as it is the last day with his old ears. He wrote down the date on a piece of paper for posterity.

In the hospital awaiting surgery, he was a bit nervous and had the choice of mask or needle for anaesthetic, "mask" he said in a heartbeat. I had to leave and Robert took over. ( I agonized over this - but missing 6 hours of classes in this intense program was going to hurt , and Robert could take the day off - he is a good parent, I had to let go) Anyways. He met the surgeon and they discovered that they went to highschool together. He texted me after Ez went in, I was on the train going into T.O, and he said that after catching up in the hallway, "Nancy" assured him that she would take good care of Ezra. She did. He has been recovering well - new lego, attention, no school, smoothies and a big fat bandage headband that he hates.

It is coming off next week for the BIG reveal...did she cut his ears off or did she just make them into little peanuts? We'll find out next week.

pre-op shot as we were going out the door

post-op shot of Ez tonight - his face is slightly swollen...(his pups (ikea) are wrapped in his old "dookies")

Here is a remnant of our game tonight, I typed as we played the first few:


1.If you could make one thing grow on trees what would it be?
Ezra: star wars lego
Marc: peace and joy berries

2. What is it about being older do you look forward to?
Ezra: "taking naps at home"
Marc: "being able to pinch cute, um, cheeks without impunity"

3. What is a great thing to have when you are camping?
Ezra: "pocket knife....and lego star wars"
Marc: "canoe and paddles"

4. Who would you avoid getting a kiss from?
Ezra: "Jenny and Whitney, because they try to kiss me over and over again"
Marc: "bearded/very haired men"

5. "If you could plot a master theft what would you steal?
Ezra: nothing , cause I already have a tree that grows lego star wars, hmm, I could steal war, then there would be no war....but then there would be no star wars...hmmm
Marc: " I would steal a year's worth of Corona -(I'm trying to be practical here) so nice not to have to do beer runs...

6. What comes to mind when you hear the word fresh?
Ezra: "good things grow ow OW, in, ON TaaR IIII OOOOOO"
Marc: "ok, to be honest, I think of someone BEING fresh..."
Ezra: "huh?"

7. What game are you great at?
Ezra: "soccer"
MArc: "yes, you are the master....haha, like I'm good at games..."

8. How do you handle disappointment?
Ezra: "I say "oh, maaan" then i just keep on going"
Marc: " I take it out of the small and place it in the big large scheme of things and see what it looks like. I also might carry that disappointment around for a bit, which is not recommended"

9. "Whats worth saving your money for?"
Ezra: "Medicine , food , clothes, video games, shelter and more police on the roads (tax)"
Marc: "Vacations, kids education (perhaps) if we all survive teenagerhood...

10.What crime doesn't deserve a punishment?
Ezra: "nONe, except for looting in Haiti, but not when they steal from other people"
MArc: "criminals need true rehab and removal of privileges (not rights), punishment accomplishes nothing in the end - rather dark ages"

11. What is your fave sandwich?
Ezra: "hard outside and soft inside bread/bun with ham, mayo, lettuce"
Marc: "Seedy grainy bread with chewy crust - anything goes inside and I'd be happy"

12: " Who would be the first female prez of the United States"
Ezra: "Aunt Heidi"
MArc: "yep. i agree, she'd make a good one, so would Linda Bokma Dejong"

13. What inspires your fashion sense?
Ezra: "myself"
MArc: "I would love to be bold and say "myself" like my kiddo, but I would have to say trends, myself, others, colours i see,  budget...my perception of myself as younger or, NOT old or fuddy...when I should really just give in to fuddy..."


The Nurses decided to leave a tail...

and Ez decided a cool hat would make him presentable in public