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Child
life specialist Michele Waters plays guinea pig for Laura Egan, 6, of Brick. . |
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can make the claim Michele Waters makes. “I never do anything bad,”
she says. She means from a kid’s point of
view. Waters is the friend who never sticks children with needles —or even
makes them say “Aah!”—when they come for same-day surgery at Monmouth
Medical Center’s Cranmer Ambulatory Surgery Center. As
a child life specialist, Waters takes children on preview tours of the facility,
distracts them when it’s time to take a blood sample and comforts them when
doctors and nurses are too busy to chat. “I see
young patients in pretty much every phase of the process, starting with pre-op,”
says Waters. A child life specialist isn’t the only
amenity Cranmer offers young patients. Others include: •
A child-oriented video, “Don’t Be Scared—My View of Surgery,”
given before the day of theoperation to explain hospital procedures.
•
A playroom adjoining the waiting room.
• A bag, shaped like a schoolbus,
with crayons and a coloring book, tissues, a bar of soap and an emesis basin in
case they become ill on the way home.
• The chance to choose a favorite
flavor of lip balm before the anesthesia mask is applied. The balm helps to counteract
the odor of the anesthesia.
• Wide latitude about attire. Kids in surgery
have been known to wear favorite pajamas, boots or even a Batman outfit. (Matthew
LaPoff of Morganville, 2-1/2, wore a doctor’s outfit for his recent tonsillectomy.)
•
A machine that dispenses “SlushPuppies,” frozen slush drinks, in several
fruity flavors.
• A reward from a “prize box” of donated toys
when it’s all over.
Cranmer staffers get rave reviews for
the way they guide children through surgery. Says Kathleen
LaPoff, Matthew’s mom: “They were very kind,
informative, helpful and attentive.”
If
Your Child Faces An Operation
• Ask questions in advance so you’ll
know what to expect. Good questions include
“What tests will be done and how will
they look and feel to my child?” and
“When can family members visit?”
• Explain to your child what’s
coming up in simple terms. Be truthful,
but not needlessly graphic. Avoid words
like “shot” for an injection and
“dye” for a substance that colors.
Your child may confuse these words with
their scary sound-alikes.
• Discuss in advance the sights and
sounds of a hospital.
• Read appropriate children’s
books and play “hospital.”
• Take along a favorite toy or stuffed
animal. Monmouth Medical Center lets your
child take this item right into the operating
room.
• If you can, make babysitting arrangements
for your other children. But be sure to
include siblings in discussions of a child’s
upcoming surgery.
• To sign up for a preoperative tour
for your child—or for advice on what
to tell him or her about an upcoming operation—call
a child life specialist at Monmouth’s
Cranmer Ambulatory Surgery Center, 732-923-6525.
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