Mom and I went to Kosair Children’s Hospital yesterday for a tour, shepherded around by the charming Schuyler Heuser. The first things that greeted us when we came in from the parking garage were two of these guys:

Now, I ask you: If you were a kid, coming into a hospital, maybe not exactly understanding what was going to happen to you, and you saw these majestic and mighty critters lying down in this calm and welcoming pose, would you be reassured? I know I would. I would be all, “Okay, Mom, you can go home, now. I’ll be fine.” I mean, look at this face. Who could be scared, with this face around?

We got to go up to the Neonatal ICU and see the preemies, who were mostly in isolettes — little isolation cribs, to keep them safe from germs. Some of them had only developed to 24 weeks before they were born. We saw a couple who were just over a pound in weight. We got to talk to the Mom of one and the Dad of another, who spent as much time as they could at their babies’ sides. Schuyler told us that one thing volunteers do is hold the babies when their parents can’t be there because of work or taking care of their other children. That’s the job for me! I could snuggle babies all day long. 🙂

Schuyler said the hospital prides itself on being as kid-friendly as possible. One thing they do is move the kids who are little enough around in wagons, instead of wheelchairs. We saw several little ones being transported that way, and they were all having a great time.

Another cool thing was the Kitten Scan room. If a kid is old enough to be worried about getting a CT scan, this helps take the worry out of it. The Kitten Scan is a small, simplified, plastic toy CT scanner. On one wall is a board holding various wooden animals. I chose a chicken. The animal is put on the “bed” and pushed into the scanner. On another wall is a screen that shows readings on the “patient” and shows what the CT scan is showing the doctor. I took a video with my camera, but I’ve been trying to get it to post for an hour and a half, and I give up. It showed the interior of the chicken with an egg inside it.

Then we had lunch with Schuyler and another terrific lady, Therese Sirles, Director of the Office of Child Advocacy. A fine time was had by all. We left, saying goodbye to the guardian lions as we went.

I’m posting at The Write Type today on how I raised SAGE from the dead.

A WRITING PROMPT FOR YOU: Write about a time you were hurt or memorably sick as a child.

MA