Cutting to the chase – Surgery Day 1

Okay. So, if yesterday took it out of me, what I saw today surely put it back in ten fold. OMG!



The teams do last minute preps before their patients
arrive. This is the small OR with two beds.

We arrived at the hospital early. My station is in the center of the operating room so I’m in the middle of all the action, which had me a little worried. As I was setting things up at my desk, the OR teams scrubbed up at the sinks in front of my desk. To my left, the anesthesiologists and surgeons huddled in small groups, occasionally going into their surgery rooms to check on things. The energy and excitement was palpable as everyone waited for the first patient to arrive. Her name was Kzhia (pronounced Ka-gzia), a 10-month little mop of curly dark hair like I had when I was little. She has 1-inch eyelashes – I kid you not. A darling little girl. I remembered her from yesterday.

The first surgery begins. Other medical staff await
the next patient.

The OR doors opened and I heard her screaming as she was pulled from her mother’s arms and carried into the first room. I burst into tears. Committed to not showing them, I put my head down and looked at the paper work willing myself to remember that she’d emerge from that room more beautiful and healthy. Sensing my need, Yvonne (the recovery room assistant) came behind me and rubbed my shoulders and encouraged me forward. I did pull it together, and managed better composure as the next two came in and filed into their rooms. I can only imagine the crying mothers letting their precious babies go and having to wait in the hallway.

Our medical staff are indeed amazing. We arrived to find out that instead of three rooms, they would only have two to operate in. That means one room is accommodating two surgeries at a time. If you’ve ever seen inside one surgery room, you know that it takes a mountain of equipment, a large table, and space for at least 4-5 people to get the job done. Suffice it to say they are handling it and making due. But it’s hot and severely cramped. Hats off to these incredible people.



Kzhia is reunited with her crying mother while
Pat (recovery nurse) and Mary (pediatrician) assist.

Following Kzhia’s surgery, I wasn’t quite prepared for what happened next. I looked up just in time to see the OR nurse in her room cradling her limp form and rushing her past my desk to the recovery room on my right. That sweet little body looked lifeless. More tears. And again, I refocused on my charts. About 30 minutes later, she was awakened and began to cry. The recovery staff held her and comforted her and the pediatrician rushed in to begin tracking her progress. It really was something to watch. A few minutes later, her mother was brought in and passed my desk. The expression on her face was one I’ll never forget – absolute desperation to get ahold of her child again. As I watched the nurse pass Kzhia to her mother, I caught a glimpse of her face, tears rolling down her face. And again, mine. I was a freakin’ basket case but I have to tell you, it was honestly one of the best things I’ve ever seen.

Throughout the day this was the scene over and over. And while the tears subsided, the feeling of the enormity of our impact only grew. It simply was amazing. As Kzhia’s mother was leaving the OR with another nurse to take her daughter down to the pediatric ward (where she would spend the night), she looked back at me at my desk and passed me a huge smile and a nod – her own way of saying thank you. I had been blessed.

In her element, Yvonny gets ready to sort a pile
of beautifully hand-made quilts that will become
part of each patient's experience.