Going into surgery can be scary for patients of any age, especially so for kids.
“There’s a lot of fear of the unknown, separation anxiety from their parents, anxiety about the surgery and the pain or whatever is going to come,” says Lisa Krebs, Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA) at Rapid City Hospital (RCH) and Orthopedic and Specialty Hospital (MHOSH). “A lot of our kids are in that three- to eight-year-old age range where they start becoming aware of their bodies and they’re not sure what’s going to happen to them when they’re not in control.”
Which is why Lisa borrowed an idea that she’d seen at Same Day Surgery Center, where they have a stock of toys hanging from the wall. The idea is that kids going to surgery can choose a toy to soothe them and distract them from their anxiety.
Using her own money at first, Lisa purchased toys and placed them in a basket at MOSH, which was soon replaced by a treasure chest. The anesthesia management caught wind of the project and began paying for the toys with department funds. By January MHOSH had a “Bluey”- themed toy wall, which Phillip Werman, CRNA RCH. The toys are now funded by a combination of Anesthesia Services and Monument Health Foundation.
Lisa estimates that anywhere from 10 to 15 kids a week undergo surgery at RCH. Most of those are either ENT surgeries or dental procedures performed by local dentists from Dakota Dental 4 Kids or Black Hills Pediatric Dentistry who retain operating room privileges. There are also orthopedic surgeries and the occasional hernia repairs or appendectomy.
“It’s a fun way to get kids to come to the OR with us without their parents. It causes less anxiety and less fear for them. They get to pick whatever they want out from our toy wall, and then they get to keep it and take it home with them,” she says. “Some of the older kids told me that the toys were a little young. They wanted fidgets, so we got fidgets.”
The reason it’s not called a “kids toy wall?” Well, grown ups get comfort from the toys as well. “I’ve had some adults that have just been super anxious and so they have picked something to hold in their hand while we were going off to sleep,” says Lisa.
About a quarter of the toys are taken by patients each week. So, Lisa sets a bit of time aside to periodically restock.
“For kids, it’s their first experience with anesthesia and you don’t want them to be traumatized by the hospital or scared of surgery in the future. So, if we can make it fun and less scary, that’s our goal.”
The toy walls have been so successful that Lisa has begun working on securing shelving for books that give the kiddos a better idea of what happens during a procedure. The books have pictures of the anesthesia machine and the equipment and masks that are used. Unlike the toys, however, the books are meant to be returned to the shelves. “They’ll be to read while they’re here. They aren’t really books they would want to read it again at home,” Lisa says, with a laugh.
Story by Kory Lanphear