My son recently had surgery, and while it was a fairly routine outpatient surgery, it's never easy as a parent to watch your child go through it. The morning of the surgery, he kept mentioning how nervous he was because he didn’t know how everything would work. He’s a big planner, and not knowing exactly what to expect made him quite anxious. We got him back to pre-surgery and settled, but again, he kept mentioning how nervous he was while we waited.

Shortly after, his nurse, Julie, came in. When she walked into the room, she introduced herself and talked to him first, which may not seem like much, but often, small children are overlooked in favor of talking to the parents, so her giving him attention first really impressed me. She had such a kind demeanor and explained every single thing she did in a way that he understood and put him at ease. She joked around, asked him to tell her all about his stuffed animal, and made him smile and laugh when she told him, “His muscles were 107% strong,” when his blood pressure numbers (107/62) popped up on the screen. While she worked, she explained step by step what he should expect next and somehow made surgery seem fun. I could see him visibly relaxing the more she explained. After she left, I asked how he was feeling now, and he said he was still nervous but excited to “smell the bubblegum” (from the anesthesia mask).

I’m not sure if she knows how much her brief interaction with him made an impact on both of us. Nurses often never think twice about the amazing things they do each and every day. I’m sure Julie would say she was just doing her job, but for a scared kid and his worried mom, those little things made a big difference. Thank you to the entire surgical team – who were all great from start to finish – but a special thanks to Julie for her exceptional care that day.