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The prospect of surgery
can be daunting for many of us, but even more so for children!
Imagine being a small child and facing surgery. Imagine being
the parent of the child and trying to explain it all and make
sure your child feels safe and comfortable!
That’s what parents Chad and Carrie were coping with a few weeks
ago, when they learned their three-year-old son, Cooper, needed
to have a cyst surgically removed from his arm. Whenever he saw
anything on TV about doctors and hospitals, Cooper would get
very scared, so his parents were concerned that he would react
badly to his upcoming operation. Then, a friend suggested they
contact The Children’s Hospital of Southwest Florida to see if
the hospital had a Child Life department that could help.
As it turns out, The Children’s Hospital provides the only Child
Life Specialists between Tampa and Miami! Child Life Specialists
are specifically trained to help children understand their
diagnoses, treatments and procedures on an age-appropriate
level.
Chad contacted The Children’s Hospital, where he connected with
Heather Waters, a certified Child Life Specialist who works on
the Pediatric Surgical Unit and the Pediatric Intensive Care
Unit. Heather asked about Cooper’s personality, his past medical
experiences and what he knew about his upcoming surgery to
remove the “bump” from his arm. She also gave Chad and Carrie
some advice about ways to help prepare Cooper, such as reading
books about hospitals and surgeries and bringing comfort items
from home.
They scheduled a tour of the Pediatric Surgical Unit for two
days before Cooper’s surgery. On the day of the tour, Heather
walked the family through most of the steps they would take on
the big day, starting with the Registration area. Then, Heather
and Cooper dressed up in surgical caps and masks and looked at
pictures in a surgical preparation book. “We talked about how
the corners of our eyes crinkle when we smile, so even though
you can’t see someone’s mouth behind the surgical mask you would
still know when they were smiling,” Heather says. “Then, I had
Cooper guess when I was smiling and not smiling while wearing
the mask. He got them all right!”
Heather also showed Cooper an anesthesia mask, and they talked
about the “sleepy medicine” that he would take before his
surgery and the hospital gown that he would need to wear instead
of his pajamas. Then, they took at look at the hallway he would
go down to enter the Operating Room.
After the tour, Heather and Cooper did “medical play,” where
they looked at pretend and real medical items, such as a
Stethoscope, Band-Aids, gauze, tape and an IV catheter, and
talked about how the items are used. “The whole purpose of the
tour was to prepare Cooper psychologically for surgery and give
him a sense of control,” Heather says.
It wasn’t just Cooper who felt more empowered by Heather’s
presence. On surgery day, Cooper started to get a little nervous
when it was time to go back to the operating room. “Heather was
there with us, and she recommended that we ask for a
pre-medicine to help relax Cooper before he had to go back.
That’s something that we wouldn’t have known to ask for without
her there,” Chad says. “She gave us as much comfort as she did
Cooper!”
When Cooper was ready, Heather asked him if she could pick him
up, and they walked down the hallway to the operating room
playing Eye Spy with the posters on the walls. As he received
his anesthesia medication, they counted together in Spanish.
Once Cooper was asleep, Heather informed his parents he went to
sleep calmly and then made sure to be in the recovery room when
the child awakened. “He did just great, and he was waving at us
as he walked out the door,” Heather says. “From pre-op to the
surgical team and everyone else involved, we really pulled
together as a team to provide a positive experience for Cooper
and his family.”
The Child Life team made all the difference, Chad says. “Cooper
had a relatively minor procedure, and Heather took so much time
and employed so many resources to make him feel comfortable. I
can’t imagine the impact that a Child Life Specialist would have
on a child having a major procedure. I don’t know how you could
do it without a Child Life Specialist!”
Three weeks after his surgery, Cooper is doing great! And his
experience at The Children’s Hospital has changed his mind about
doctors and hospitals! “After his surgery, he said, ‘Mommy and
Daddy, I’m not scared of hospitals anymore,’” Chad adds. “He
wants to work in a hospital and help kids like Heather does. She
has a fan for life in all of us!”
For more information about the Child Life Specialist department,
click here.
Peace,
Jim Nathan
President, Lee Memorial Health System
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