When we’re about to undergo surgery, there’s always supposed to be a conversation beforehand about the risks involved. Whether doctors are removing a brain tumor or just some wisdom teeth, that conversation needs to happen so our decision to go through with it can be an informed one.
It’s often easier to relax when we get a sense of the odds, but it’s still natural to be a little worried or even scared of how the procedure will go.
But as worrying as they might be for adults, it’s not hard to see why a child who needs surgery would be twice as worried. And one hospital is doing something about that.
The closer we get to a stressful event we’ve been dreading, the more intensely we feel that dread.
And so, as young patients make their way to an operating room, they often find themselves taking what feel like the hardest steps of their lives.
Sometime last year, staff at the Doctors Medical Center in Modesto, California were clearly very aware of this issue.
And so, as The Daily Mail reported , they bought a power wheels car modeled after a black Mercedes to turn those big steps into a fun drive.
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Apparently, the idea worked well because this year, a hospital employee decided to donate a second car.
So now, what a Facebook post from the hospital describes as their “smallest patients” can choose between a sleek, sporty Mercedes or charming, pink VW Beetle.
They also posted a video of this second car in action.
In it, a young patient named Caroline happily takes the Beetle for a spin as she makes her way to her operation.
Although she knows where she’s headed, the ride seems to have taken her mind off of what will happen when she gets there.
Not to mention, Caroline seems to handle the car well even as she keeps looking back at the person filming her.
Indeed, this definitely seems like an innovative solution to help kids get a little more comfortable as they bring themselves to where they needed to go anyway.
And as the hospital’s staff tell it, Caroline isn’t the only one to have this reaction as she motors along.
As they said in the video’s caption , “We can see the stress and anxiety melt away when they hop in the car.”
And for anyone who likes this idea enough to want to contribute, the Doctors Medical Center is accepting donations.
According to The Daily Mail , some people had already expressed interest in sending their cars along and the hospital said to drop them an email to work out the details.
h/t: The Daily Mail