My husband's good friend just stopped by and it was obvious there was something very wrong with his left ear. The ear was swollen, red and almost a purplish black around the lobe. Part of the lobe was missing.

He started off with the ear becoming swollen and red, then progressed to turning a very dark color. A dermatologist was treating the condition but there was no improvement.

Our friend felt a strange "lump" on the back of his ear lobe, rubbed it and the bottom of the lobe fell off.

Since then he's seen many doctors and had many tests run. Seems it's a rare disease that can be external as well as internal. If it's internal, then it is very serious as it produces a sticky substance that coats the heart, kidkneys, liver, etc.

He couldn't remember the name of this disease but thinks it starts with AMYL...... Anybody ever heard of this?