Ouch!

The painful earache put Mom down for the count.
Mom awoke in the middle of Sunday night/Monday morning with a terrible earache. Her worst fears were confirmed a few hours later when her eardrum ruptured. (Generally, the pain increases until the actual rupture occurs, which brings a little bit of relief from the extreme pressure.)

Despite a lack of good sleep and continued pain, she forged on to school. Later Monday afternoon, she headed off to see the ear doctor, who prescribed medicine that comes in unusually large pills.

Anyway, the timing is not good (is it ever?). Tuesday is the start of parent-teacher conferences. So we're praying that she makes it through and can return to her bed for some much-needed rest and relief from the pain.