Parents/caregivers may have feelings from calm to worried when they learn that their child needs surgery. Your feelings about your child's surgery and your understanding of what is going to happen to your child may affect how your child copes with their visit to the hospital. Children are very good at picking up on their parents'/caregivers' feelings, even when they try to hide them.
Preparing yourself for your child’s surgery
Here are a few tips to help you prepare yourself for your child's surgery.
Learn about your child's surgery
If you learn about your child's surgery, you will be able to prepare your child for it. Your child's surgeon will meet with you before the surgery to explain what will be done during the surgery and what will happen afterwards. The health-care providers within the clinic or on the inpatient ward may also give you information about your child's surgery and hospital stay.
Ask if there is any information available about your child's surgery. Ask your child's health-care provider to go over this information with you and to explain any words or ideas you do not understand. Many people do not understand some of the words used by the health-care team.
Ask questions
You may want to ask some of these questions:
- Who will be in charge?
- How long will the surgery take?
- Where will I wait during the surgery?
- How will I know when the surgery is over?
- When is my child likely to be awake?
- Where will my child be when I first see them?
- What sort of condition will my child likely be in?
- How can I best comfort my child?
- When can my child eat?
- How will my child's pain be managed after the surgery?
- When will my child be ready to go home?
- How long will it be before my child can go back to school or out to play?
- How much time will I need to take off work to look after my child?
Find out who can help you prepare your child for surgery
There are other people in the hospital who can help you prepare your child for surgery, including the following:
- child life specialist
- social worker
- pre-anesthesia clinic team
The surgical administrator in the clinic can help you contact these people if you have specific questions about preparing your child for surgery.
What can you do during surgery?
After your child goes in for surgery, you will be directed to a waiting area. You can wait here while your child is in the operating room. This is a good time to have a snack and something to drink to ensure you have energy to look after your child when they wake up. It is best to check in with the volunteers/health-care team when you get there so they know how to notify you when your child is ready to see you after the surgery. Private areas are available to discuss your child’s surgery with the surgeon.
Make sure the health-care team knows how to contact you during the surgery. If you are in the hospital, tell them where you will be and if you leave the hospital, provide a phone number where you can be reached. While your child is in surgery, there are several things you can do to pass the time:
- enjoy a coffee or tea and a snack
- read a book
- watch TV in the waiting room
- keep friends and family up to date on your child's progress
Shopping and eating
We encourage you to take a walk and distract yourself. Hospitals have places to eat, shop for toiletries, medicine, clothes, toys, gifts and special foods. Ask a health-care provider for help to find these services or visit the hospital website for more information.
Sacred spaces and practices
Your hospital may have a Meditation and Contemplation Room, Muslim Prayer Room, Chapel or Indigenous Healing Space. Often these spaces are open 24/7 for quiet prayer and meditation. Indigenous ceremonies such as smudging may occur in various spaces in the hospital, including at the bedside. Please ask your health-care provider for more information.