This post is sponsored by General Mills but, as always, all thoughts and opinions are my own.
It’s now been almost a full month since my daughter, S, had her surgery to repair an epigastric hernia.
The Cohen’s Children’s Medical Center staff thought of everything. The nurses reminded us not to eat or drink in the pre-op waiting room because the patients there aren’t allowed to either. The child life specialist made sure that S had Play-Doh, stuffed animals, cars and as many other toys as they could provide in order to make sure S stayed in a good mood. The child life team sat with her while the doctor and anesthesiologist spoke with us and walked us through the entire procedure. The anesthesiologist offered to place a flavored scent into the anesthesia to make it more tolerable for S to breathe in (she chose strawberry). S was also given the option to look at pictures of the operating room before going in to help the environment feel more familiar once she got inside. She was pushed into the OR in style, riding in a Step2 play push-car and beeping the horn the entire way. My wife also told me that she was able to hold S on her lap while they administered the anesthesia, which I thought was unbelievable.
You’ll be relieved, I’m sure, to hear that everything went smoothly. The doctors’ estimates for when the procedure would be finished were spot on. The hospital staff, from the surgeon and anesthesiologist to the child life specialists who walked us through the procedure during the prep time to the volunteers who kept us updated while we were in the waiting area, were all warm and genuine as they worked to calm our anticipatory nerves. S was a trooper through every step of the preparation and got over her early hesitations about the Very Hungry Caterpillar scrubs. And, as uncomfortable as she was when she (eventually) woke up from the anesthesia, a couple of nurse-supplied ice pops helped her get back to her usual smiling self all too quickly.
Within a week, our biggest concern had shifted quickly from making sure S was recovering appropriately to making sure that she wasn’t pushing herself to get too active before she was ready. It was a difficult task with her older brother around, often trying to goad her into a wrestling match or offering her piggy-back rides; it was even harder once she went back to nursery school after the Passover break and she wanted to run, climb and be a typical two-year-old with her friends.
It was surprising to me how quickly we seemed to forget about the hospital and its staff, all of whom had helped our family have such a positive experience through such a potentially anxiety-provoking ordeal.
As a mental health professional, I’m familiar with the ways that clinicians are forced to move on when a professional relationship ends. There is always the next patient, the next family, the next person who needs help who occupies our attention almost immediately after we’ve just finished with the previous patient. I’m sure that the doctors, nurses and other staff who kept our collective sanity under control have moved on to numerous other patients since we left their campus, just as we’ve returned to our preoccupations with our day-to-day responsibilities with school work and family.
But that’s why I was so excited to hear about the way that General Mills and Costco are supporting the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals during the month of May. Every year, General Mills and Costco work together to donate to the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals so that the member hospitals across the country can continue giving patients and their families the kind of world-class care that we received during S’s surgery (S’s surgery was done at Cohen Children’s Medical Center, which is part of the Children’s Miracle Network). The best part for my family was that we could join in the effort using General Mills products that we already love and buy on a regular basis.
Giving back to our community is a value that my wife and I have worked to instill in our children, even at their young ages. We both work professionally in fields that focus on helping those in need and we spend time working with children in our religious community, as well. We’ve also made sure to show our children the importance of using our resources and privilege to lift up those around us, from participating in food and clothing drives to helping to ensure that the public spaces in our community are more inviting.
S’s surgery might have been considered “routine” by medical standards, though I can assure you that the rest of our family did not see anything remotely “routine” about that day. The fact that we were so nervous about a “routine” procedure, though, has made me think of other families who have been faced with much more complex medical situations for their children. Through this promotion. my family and I were able to find another way to give back to a cause that means so much to us already. We were able to help support hospitals that we know represent the highest levels of compassion and integrity, not to mention medical expertise. (And, of course, the fact that we were already fans of General Mills products was an added bonus!)
I hope you’ll join us in buying specially marked packages of General Mills cereals at your local Costco and continue to support Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals.
