Hospital Lets Its Child Patients Drive To Surgery In Cars To Help Reduce Anxiety
The prospect of going under the knife is a daunting one, regardless of age. All surgeries - and by extension anesthetics - are not without risks, and therefore it's only human to be anxious beforehand. This is especially the case if you're a kid and can't quite get your head around why a potentially lifesaving operation is necessary.
One hospital in California, however, has come up with an ingenious way of turning what's usually a scary experience into a fun one - by letting their child patients drive down to surgery in miniature cars.
To see one of their happy patients make her way to surgery, check out the video below:
The hospital in question is the Doctors Medical Center in Modesto. The cars were first introduced last year and have proven to be a hit with their child patients.
Credit: Facebook / Doctors Medical Center
Back then, they only had a miniature Mercedes car for their child patients to drive, but have since expanded their garage to include a pink Volkswagen Beetle, pictured here.
That little girl's face really says it all, doesn't it?!
Credit: Facebook / Doctors Medical Center
The children at the hospital can do more than just drive the cars too, as they also have a stereo and MP3 player.
Credit: Facebook / Doctors Medical Center
The incredible idea was revealed on the Doctors Medical Center Facebook page.
The video above was captioned: "We love having these little cars available for our pediatric surgical patients at Doctors Medical Center. The cars truly help ease stress and anxiety for our smallest patients."
Credit: Facebook / Doctors Medical Center
Understandably, social media users had a lot to say about the initiative because the stress associated with going to the operating theatre is all too relatable.
One wrote: "It's wonderful to see a smile instead of worry/fear."
Someone even offered to purchase a third car for the hospital, writing: "This is wonderful and so important. Thank you for taking the extra step for your brave pediatric patients. Are you in need of an additional car? If so, I would like to donate one. Let me know who I can contact to arrange this!"
Credit: Facebook / Doctors Medical Center
The pink Volkswagen Beetle was also a donation - specifically, from a kind-hearted staff member and her family who knew the good it would do.
This was announced on the center's Facebook page:
"Check it out! Doctors Medical Center has made another addition to our pediatric surgical program. Last year, we introduced our little black Mercedes. Now we have a pink Volkswagen Beetle!"
"These sweet rides take our smallest patients to the operating room. The goal is to reduce anxiety and stress, and make the experience less scary for everyone involved. Doesn't hurt to have options, right? The new pink car was generously donated by one of our employees and her family."
Let's just hope that the popularity of this idea inspires other hospitals to do the same thing.
Who doesn't want to see kids happily beeping their way to surgery?!