This poor little turtle has been through so much. She got hit by a carless driver, she had one leg amputated, her other leg is still broken, she can hardly walk... and now...
She has an ear abscess. 
The strange thing is that I think she had it back when she got hit. When I initially took her to the vet she had a bump on the side of her head. The vet thought it was from the accident and told me he thought it was just swelling. Well, the "swelling" went down a little while she was on the antibiotics. Since she has been off of them, the swelling has increased. My vet said he thinks the antibiotics may have suppressed the infection for a while, but did not completely alleviate the issue.
She has been quiet the past week which isnt like her. So over the weekend I had her out for her soak and I noticed the bump on the side of her head had gotten larger and had puss under the surface. I immediately called the vet Monday morning and took her in. He barely touched it, and the skin broke and it began to drain.
So now she has this "rip" on the side of her head. The vet instructed me to clean it with chlorhexidine, dry it, and then put a topical antibiotic in the ear (much easier said than done). It would be easier if it had been lanced and I had a clean hole to deal with (with Speedbump I have to dig into the rip to access the ear). Two-three weeks of this, twice a day.
It's really sad. The poor thing has already been through so much, and now this. On the upside, since her abscess was drained, she is back to her old self.
The other night I let her soak in clean warm water and then took her out to dry off. I had paper towel wrapped around her and I laid down and set her on my chest to look at her wound. While she was sitting there, she fell asleep. 
It was so sweet. After everything she has been through, and after all the pain I'm sure she has had to endure when I gave her shots, clean out her wounds, etc - she still trusts me enough to fall asleep on me while I look at her. She really is a special turtle. I just hope she can get completely healthy
-----
1.0.0 Jack Russel Terrier: Skipper
0.1.0 Miniature Pinscher: Bambi
1.2.5 Eastern Box Turtles: Dozer, Daisy, Speedbump, Magnum and 4 hatchlings
0.1.0 Red Eared Slider: Rosie
