Saul Has Surgery

Hi! I'm Saul. Not long ago, I had surgery. I didn't really know what having surgery was going to be like. I was a little nervous. But everything was okay! Here's how it went.

I learned that kids have surgery for all kinds of things. My doctors said that surgery was the best way to help me.

On the morning of my surgery, my parents took me to the hospital. I got to bring my favorite toy with me. I picked Doug the Dragon.

I had to skip breakfast that day. It's not good to eat right before surgery. But my mom told me that I could have something to eat after it was over.

At the hospital we met a nurse.

He said, "Saul, my name is Danny. I'm going to help take care of you while you're here."

Danny took my parents and me to a getting-ready room. He helped me put on a hospital shirt and gave me a wristband with my name on it. Then he put some stickers on my chest that had little wires clipped to them. And he put a red light on my pointer finger. Danny told me that those things help the doctors check on my heart and my breathing during the surgery.

Then two doctors came in to say hi. They told me they each had a special job. One doctor was the surgery doctor. She was in charge of doing my surgery.

The other doctor was the sleepy doctor. I heard some people call her the "anesthesiologist." She was in charge of making sure I stayed asleep the whole time.

"That way, you won't feel a thing!" said the sleepy doctor.

Then it was time to go to the surgery room. I got to put on a funny hat. It made me laugh when I saw myself in the mirror. It looked like a mushroom on my head!

I got to ride in a bed with wheels on it. Nurse Danny pushed it. And my mom and dad got to walk with us part of the way to the surgery room.

Danny said, "This is as far as your mom and dad can come, Saul. But don't worry. I will stay with you the whole time."

So Mom and Dad gave me a kiss and said they'd be there when I woke up.

Danny and I went into the surgery room. There were big TV screens and bright lights. The surgery doctor and sleepy doctor were waiting for me. They had masks on. Danny had his mask on too.

"These masks and hats help make sure the surgery room stays very, very clean," said Danny.

"You get a mask too," said the sleepy doctor. "Yours has special air in it that makes you sleepy. And you can choose what flavor the air is!"

There were lots of flavor choices. I picked my favorite sweet treat, chocolate cake!

The sleepy doctor put a plastic mask up to my face and said, "Okay Saul. Now take some big, deep, dragon breaths."

That was easy, because cake-flavored air is yummy.

Then I must have fallen asleep, because that's the last thing I remember.

When I woke up, I was in a different room. It was kind of noisy in there, and I felt a little weird. Waking up from surgery isn't like waking up in the morning.

My parents were there. So was Doug the Dragon. There was a little tube going into the top of my hand. The tube didn't hurt. But it looked kind of funny.

I was still sleepy, and I felt a little sore. But Nurse Danny put some medicine into the tube in my hand. That helped me feel better fast.

After I woke up all the way, Danny gave me an ice pop and then some crackers to make sure my tummy was feeling okay. Then he took the tube out of my hand and said, "Okay, Saul. Let's get you ready to go home."

Danny told me that some kids stay at the hospital after surgery. But my surgery wasn't the stay-at-the-hospital kind.

So my parents took me home the same day. And since I missed breakfast, my dad said he would make pancakes for dinner!

Now that you know how surgery went for Saul, can you think of any questions you still have about your surgery? What special thing will you bring to the hospital?