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In the Hospital
Every time the doctor comes in he says, "Good, Good, Good." But I don't know if I'm getting better or worse. Age 10 in the hospital for two weeks. (Sharon 4 1/2 y.o.) When she got to the back yard she played. She played with the horse on the swing set. Then she played on the slide on the swing set. Then she fell off of the slide. She was hurt. Then her Mom and Dad took her to the hospital. She had to stay laying in the bed. They had to do a BIG surgery on her. Next when she woke up she was in the Division 85. That was like being in a real big room. I was in the 1O room. I saw the 1O. They had the chest PT there. That's beating on the chest. It's like a real big monster beating on your chest. Because they had to get stuff out into the boxes. Now I only have one box, but they have to milk it. Milking it is putting cream on their hands and pushing the tube. They have to get the stuff out of my chest. It doesn't hurt when they milk it. My old heart put it in there, in my chest. It's medicine and other kinds of things. I have a new heart now. It goes blumb, blumb, blumb, blumb. I used to go wish, swish, swish, swish. My blood goes round and round and round in big circles. It didn't do that before. I have to get better before I can go home. That means that I have to get better so much so that I can go home. Mom likes it pretty good to be in the hospital. She liked it pretty good when she had Mark and when she had me. I didn't like it then I cried and cried because I couldn't tell her why I didn't like being in the hospital. But now I can. I don't like it now, but now I can tell her. I tell her that I want to go home. The worst thing about being in the hospital is getting the chest tube out. It hurts a lot. I thought it might hurt, but I didn't know just then. No they didn't give me any medicine so that it wouldn't hurt. A doctor took them out— took only one out. There was a nice nurse there. Why are nurses pains? Answer: They're always needling you. ******* What's wrong with surgeons? Answer: They're always mixing you up. ******* Knock! Knock! Who's there? Doctor coming to take you away. ******* What's worse than a beeping noise? Answer: No beeping. Once upon a time there was a kid named Jessica. She had to go to the hospital because she needed heart surgery. Before she came to the hospital her heart slowed her down. She said, "I couldn't jump rope, but I could swim a little. I wanted to jump rope." She drove 3 whole days to get to Children's Hospital from Arkansas. It was fun. The best thing was looking at the mountains and some of the houses. It was weird to get here. The people talk funny. It wasn't unusual to be in a hospital because she'd been in one before. It was weird there because I knew that I was going to have surgery. I was 7. Here we get a place to stay in the Gardiner House across the street. We stayed there overnight together. We came on the elevator to Division 35. It was weird to walk into Division 35 for the first time because I hardly remember anything before the surgery. I was worried. Just going through it worried me. I was a little worried that I might die. My parents were a little worried, too. So this time I went into my surgery and I was a little scared. I was scared about what they might do. I was worried that they would do something that they weren't supposed to do. I worried that I'd wake up and my chest would be broke open and I'd see it. I didn't think I'd have chest tubes afterwards. It hurts when they put them in. It hurts while its in, and it hurts a little when they pull it. I've had 5 chest tubes. They're to get fluid out but 1 was because I had an infection around the other hole. I'd be happy because they'd take it out but 2 days later they'd put one back in. It was awful. Some good things about the hospital are playing in the activity room, talking to other kids, the foods OK. The nurses are OK. All of them I like alot. If I were home and could have anything to eat I would have pizza. I would have mashed potatoes and steak cooked outside. What I miss alot is talking to my friends, talking to one special friend Holly. If I could talk to Holly right now I'd tell her I miss school. I'd ask her how school was going. I want to go home now. They say I can go home 2 days after the tube is out. I miss my dogs and cats. THE END And then, There's the TORTURE ROOM. Guess what they do there... They pull tubes out.... it feels not very good. They put tubes back in... Oh no! And then they take tubes out and put them back in and take tubes out and put them back in and take them out and put them in and take them out. Thank goodness. And they also take blood, OUCH! The only time it hurts is when they keep on punching it in.. That's what they did today. NO! If I could tell the Vampires something, I'd tell them: to stop taking blood because it hurts. Then they'd say "But I have to make you better." And I'd [story stops here] Priscilla says, "This intensive care place is yucky!" because the nurses pick me up and it hurts alot. There's not much else about intensive care but hurting. Priscilla was talking to her friend at home, named Pam. She was telling her about the hospital and she said, "I've been in the hospital a month. That's how long I've been in. I think it's a long time. I never like to be in the hospital it feels yucky. I hate needles in me. I get those mostly for blood tests. They always do them in the treatment room. I think its an OK place. I don't really like to go there though. But my favorite blood people are Larry and Madelyn. I'm used to them and Madelyn came and did my nails." She had to have another chest tube— not a big one but one with the syringe in it. She needed a shot before that. She said "OW!" and then she gets a bandaid. And the tube is already in. That was quick. We got one syringe of fluid. It feels OK. By Pam The Place That Makes Me Feel Bad The place that makes me feel bad, or my place to think bad thoughts is in the hospital. I go to the hospital often, so I think of it as my black cypress tree. I consider the hospital my cypress tree because there is a feeling of pain in the air. I often hear people mourning other people. - 14 year old boy with frequent hospitalizations for his severe congenital heart disease Dear Mom, When you left I cried. I was mad. I won the game. I played with shots in the water. I got my I.V. flushed. I played. I'm feeling good. Age 4 Letter dictated to Child Life Specialist in the hospital's playroom, while mother went for a break. Kailin’s Story-Part II: My hospital arrival The first day I arrived at the hospital was a very busy day. First, my mom, dad and I went to the Admissions Office to let them know I was there. They were very happy to see me. Mom and Dad took care of some hospital business, and I got a special bracelet to wear with my name on it. To keep me company, I brought along Lamby, my stuffed animal friend since the day I was born. Lamby even got to wear a hospital bracelet of her very own too, although she preferred to wear it as a necklace.Kailin’s Story-Part III: Getting tests The rest of my day I traveled around the hospital to have special tests done to check my heart. The first stop was to see a lab technician who took some blood from my arm with a needle. It hurt a little but not for long.The second stop was to have my picture taken by a special camera took a picture of my chest and my heart and lungs inside. It was called an x-ray and it didn’t hurt at all. The next stop was to have a test called an electrocardiogram, sometimes called an EKG or an ECG. That test records the electrical activity of the heart. It can also show if parts of the heart are too large or overworked. I was used to having that kind of test at the doctor’s office. I didn’t mind those sticky EKG stickers. The last test I had that day was an echocardiogram. An echocardiogram looks at the size, shape and motion of the heart using sound waves. I had echocardiograms before, but this one was the biggest yet. The technician kept the room very dark so the doctors could watch the monitor screen that showed my heart. The gel she put on my chest was cold at first and I really didn’t like it. The test seemed to last a very long time. It really didn’t hurt, but I was getting tired of the transducer being pressed on my chest. It lasted over an hour. The doctors pointed out the hole in my heart so my Mom and Dad could see. I knew it was a very important test so I tried very hard to be patient. Kailin’s Story-Part IV: The hospital floor When the testing was finally over, I was ready to go to my hospital room. My hospital room was nice with a bright, sunny window. It had two big beds in it, so you could have a roommate. There was a curtain between the two beds that moved back and forth so you could say hi to each other. The beds were a lot of fun. They moved up and down when you pushed a button. Every room had a bathroom and two televisions. There were cabinets to put your things away, a rocking chair and a chair that turned into a bed. It was a little like a hotel room, except for all the hospital stuff on the wall.Nurses and doctors stopped by to talk to us. They were very friendly and told us they were always there to answer questions, especially my questions. One of the nurses took my blood pressure with a special cuff that fit around my arm. Then she took my temperature and checked my heart and lungs with her stethoscope. The surgeons who would perform my operation talked to us about my heart surgery. I really liked the doctors and I was glad they would help me get better. I could tell mom and dad thought so too. Another doctor called an anesthesiologist came to visit me. He was the doctor who would give me special medicine to make me sleep during my operation so I wouldn’t feel a thing. Before long, it was time to take the tour of my hospital floor. All the children there had heart problems like me. There was a large map on the wall with red pegs to mark the different places children traveled from to come to this hospital. There were tons of red pegs from all over the country and from other countries too. I stopped by the nurse’s station to say hello. They told me about the special snack kitchen and the playroom. There were many toys and games to play with and all the furniture was kid-size in the playroom. The playroom’s big rule was that it was for fun only. When the doctors and nurses needed to do tests or check-ups, the playroom was off limits. All the children loved the playroom. Kailin’s Story-Part V: The night before my operation When it was late my dad left to stay at a nearby hotel the night before my surgery. Only one parent could stay in my room overnight and my mom really wanted to stay. The nurses gave her linens and a pillow to make up the pull-out bed that was really a chair. I was glad my mom was there to keep me company. She liked to stay up late like me.That night my nurse showed me her little doll made of muslin. The doll was very plain and it looked homemade. She talked about my operation and showed me where my incision would be on the doll’s chest using a marker. She told me that I would have IVs and tubes for a little while. She drew those too. I really did not want to think about that doll. So my mom and I took a walk up and down the hallway instead. I was disappointed to find the playroom closed. The hospital seemed very different at night. The lights were dim like nightlights and it was very quiet. Sometimes you could hear the nurses talking in whispers. When we got back to my room, my mom wanted to talk about the doll again. She told me that to fix the boo-boo in my heart, the doctors would have to make an incision, a boo-boo on the outside of my chest so they could reach my heart. Then that boo-boo on my chest would heal and get better too. A special heart-lung machine would help my heart do its job when it was being fixed. The IVs and tubes were there to help my body heal after surgery. After a few days, I wouldn’t need them any more. The IVs or intravenous lines would give my body special things I needed like medicines and nourishing fluids. The tubes would help my body drain the fluids that my body didn’t need. I would even have a tube to go to the bathroom until I was feeling well enough to get up and walk. I think I was worried about that tube the most. My mom said that the nurses in the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit would take good care of me after my operation. Other children were there right now, even babies, who were healing from their heart operations. They had IVs and tubes too. The nurses would use a monitor that made a beeping noise and had a funny, wavy line to check my heartbeats. Every child had one. I sat in my mom’s lap for a while as she held the doll. I felt bad for the little doll. I don’t think she liked those marks on her. I wrapped her in a blanket so she would feel better. My mom thought we should get some sleep, but I really don’t think she was tired either. She kissed me goodnight and tucked me in bed. I woke up in the middle of the night and climbed over to my Mom who was finally asleep. In the morning I was curled all around her when we both opened our eyes. The morning nurse looked surprised to see me there, but my Mom just smiled and gave me a hug. Kailin’s Story-Part VI: My operation I couldn’t have breakfast that morning because I couldn’t eat or drink anything before my operation. I really didn’t feel very hungry any way. My dad arrived in my room very early, and I was happy to see him. We had to pack our suitcases again and leave them in a special room near the nurses’ station. After my surgery I would be staying in the CICU, the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit for a few days. My Mom and Dad would stay in the parents’ dorm with other parents who had children in the CICU. When I felt better I would come back to a new room on the cardiac hospital floor for the rest of my hospital stay.The pre-op room had a lot more beds than my room. There were curtains surrounding each bed. A nurse checked my vital signs: my blood pressure, my heart rate, my respiratory rate, and my temperature. My dad was being silly and telling me jokes. One by one doctors and nurses in pajama scrub suits appeared at my bed. They were smiling and wanted to know if we were having a party because there was so much giggling. They were the surgeons and surgical nurses that were doing my operation. They all came to greet me. The anesthesiologist who came to see me the day before was there too. He asked me if I liked strawberry, watermelon or bubble gum the best. I got to sniff little bottles of each. I chose bubble gum. He had a little mask for me to try on and said that he could make it smell like bubble gum. Everyone else wanted to smell it, too. When it was time to go into the operating room, the doctors said that my mom or dad could come too. We decided that my dad could go since my mom got to sleep over. The really funny part was seeing my dad get into his pajama scrub suit. I gave my mom a hug and a kiss. She said that she would see me very soon. In the operating room, my doctor gave me a little mask to breathe into just like the one I tried on before. It was bubble gum. I remember sitting on my dad’s lap. Everyone was going to count backwards from one hundred with me. I remember hearing 100, 99, 98 97... To read more about Kailin’s experiences, click here. |
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© 2007, Children's
Hospital Boston Department of Psychiatry. All Rights Reserved. The information on this website should not be taken as medical advice, which can only be given to you by your personal health care professional. Updated February 1, 2007 |
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