On Sunday morning, my neighbor Carolyn knocked on my front door holding a basket of carbs and said, “I need to have my gallbladder out. I’ve never had an operation and have no idea how to find a surgeon to do my surgery. I don’t want to die. I brought you some scones.”
Carolyn brings up a valid point — if you’ve been blessed with reasonably good health, you probably don’t have a surgeon’s number on speed dial. Therefore, the bigger question is, in the unfortunate event that you need one, how do you find the best surgeon for your medical condition?
It starts in the playground. A kid has a seizure and everybody freaks out. Nobody knows what to do.
Maybe not even the school nurse. Even though epilepsy first aid is a cinch.
It’s frightening to see a child seize and then, based on that fright, they think:
“I can’t deal with this.”
It starts in the playground. A kid has a seizure and everybody freaks out.
Nobody knows what to do. Maybe not even the school nurse.
Even though epilepsy first aid is a cinch.
It’s frightening to see a child seize and then, based on that fright, they think:
“I can’t deal with this.”
There is no “welcome” sign to the world of childhood brain surgery. And the resulting combination of fear, shock, and pain is almost too much to bear.
No amount of preparation or knowledge can help to ease or minimize the situation.
But preparing a child for surgery emotionally, is one of the most important things you can do. Surgery, without proper explanations and preparation, can traumatize a child…