Part 1

My name is Heather. You are going to follow me while I have my operation at the Children's Hospital in Oxford. By watching this video you will discover what will happen to you when you come in for your operation. Let's go and find out.

(Heather speaks into the intercom.)

We buzz into the ward and sit down in the waiting area. We wait here until we are called by the Nurse to be checked into the ward. There are some books to read and some toys to play with in the waiting area. All the wards have play rooms. Would you like to look around?

Tom's Ward

'Hi, my name's Anna and I'm one of the play specialists on Tom's Ward.'
'Hi, and my name's Rachel and I'm one of the other play specialists on Tom's Ward.'

This is our play room, and in this play room we have Thalma and Tom, two fishes, and we have also got many activities and toys for you to play with during your stay. We have gluing, sticking, painting, board games, we can do tie-dying and marble painting, we've got trains and cars, and dolls and dressing-up clothes as well. Hopefully there'll be plenty of activities for you to do while you are staying on Tom's Ward with us.

Melanie's Ward

Welcome to Melanie's Ward: this is for adolescents only, so if you are aged 12 and up you might come to this ward for your surgery. We keep this ward for adolescents to make it nice and peaceful and quiet so we have no young children running around, no toys on the floor, and all our facilities are aimed just for your age. We have a Day Room where you can go and play PlayStation, do art and craft activities, watch DVDs; we have kitchen facilities for you where you can make your own drinks and snacks once you are allowed to eat. The Day Room is also a great place where you can meet other adolescents who are going through the same experience as you. Outside of Melanie's Ward we have a school room and an IT room, so if you want to go on the internet and chat to any of your mates while you're here you can. And we'll try and make your stay as nice as possible.

Robin's Ward

Hi this is Robin's Ward and we'd like to show you around our play room. We've got lots of things for you to do while you're here, we do painting, we do sticking, there's lots of art and craft types of things, we do construction toys, there's things for all ages and it's important that we keep you busy while you're here with us. We'll always try and find you something to do while you're here with us so that you're not bored, and have some fun.

Hello and welcome to the Children's Day Care play room. We've got lots of things for you to do. Let's show you the dressing up tent. In here there are lots of different costumes you can wear. In here we have all the board games you can imagine playing. On this table you can do some Lego modelling and over there is our art and craft table for lots of messy play. We also have a selection of baby and toddler toys for our younger children, and DVDs and PlayStation for our older patients. If you come to the Day Ward we'll always try and make things fun.

Part 2

A Nurse came to get us from the waiting area and showed us into the ward. Here we met Jackie, the Nurse Practitioner.

Having a check up

'Hi Heather, my name's Jackie, I'm a Nurse Practitioner. What I'm going to do is just ask you and Mum a few questions and then just check you over, make sure you're well enough to have your operation today.'

Jackie explained why I was having my operation. She checked that I was fit for my operation and listened to my heart and lungs with a stethoscope. Sometimes a doctor may do this.

The Nurse

The Nurse shows us to my bed space. There are a few checks she needs to do.

'I just want to get you prepared for your operation, OK? Have you ever had a name band on before?'

The Nurse put a name band on my wrist and some magic cream on the back of my hands. The magic cream was to make my hand go numb. It felt a bit cold but it didn't hurt. Then she checked my temperature and my pulse, writing them down on a special chart. Afterwards I met Sonia who is a Play Specialist on the ward.

The Play Specialist

'Hello Heather, I'm Sonia and I'm one of the play specialists working on the ward today. Do you know why you've come into hospital today?' 'Yes, I'm coming in for my operation.' 'That's right, and did you know that you are going to be asleep, this means you are going to have a special sleep? You did? Fantastic.'

Sonia explained that the nurse had put the magic cream on the back of my hands to make them go numb. This means that I won't feel that part of my hands. This is because the doctor is going to put a little straw in the back of my hand and the cream means that I shouldn't feel anything. Then Sonia showed me the special straw. 'You can have a play with that if you like, you can feel the little straw, it is quite small isn't it.' 'It looks a bit like an aeroplane' 'Sometimes we call it an aeroplane, or a butterfly'. Sonia showed me the syringe that fits into the special straw and explained that the medicine would go down the syringe, through the special straw and into the back of my hand. ('We'll put some very special medicine through: do you want to push on the top?') When the doctors do this you can choose a book to look at or take a special toy; this means you'll have something fun to do.

The Surgeon

'Hello Heather, my name's Miss Lennox and I'll be doing your operation today.'

After I'd chosen what I'd like to look at, I met the doctor, Miss Lennox. She was doing my operation. She explained what was going to happen and asked my Mum to sign a form saying that I could have my operation.

The Anaesthetist

The next person who came to see me was the doctor whose job it is to look after me while I have my special sleep.

'Hi, do you mind if I perch myself here? I'm one of the doctors here and I'm called an Anaesthetist, and it's my job to look after you when you are asleep so you can have your operation. So I'm the guy who makes you feel sleepy, looks after you when you're asleep and then wakes you up again at the end. Is that OK?'

The Anaesthetist asks me and my Mum a few more questions explaining how I'd go to sleep. There are two ways you can go to sleep, with the special straw, or with the mask. The Anaesthetist will decide with you on the day which is best for you.

Once I had seen the doctors I was allowed to play in the play room.

Getting ready

It was time to get the gown on that I would wear for my operation. I could wear my pants to theatre and I brought my own dressing gown and slippers to wear.

Part 3

Going to theatre

I am ready now and it is time for me to go to theatre where I'll have my operation. Sometimes you go down to theatre on a bed with wheels, or you can walk, like I did. I am shown to a special room where I'll go to sleep for my operation. If your Mum and Dad are with you, you may choose one of them to come.

'This is Lynn, one of the nurses here, she's going to help me make you feel sleepy. We need you to hop up on this bed, so do you want to slip your dressing gown off and hop up on here? We just need to do a few checks on your name band and things and take this magic cream off.'

The Anaesthetist took off the magic cream and put a special straw in my hand.

'Well done, it's all in and we're just going to stick it down.'

I was looking at a book and didn't even realise it was happening.

'Right Heather, this is the medicine that is going to make you feel sleepy and is going to go through the plastic tube, and this is the mask that's going to give you some gas and air that is going to make you feel sleepy as well. OK?'

Recovery Room

'Hello Heather, the operation is all finished now sweetheart.'

After the operation I was very sleepy. When you start to wake up it's in another room called the recovery room.

'Would you like to go back to the ward? I'm going to ring the ward and get the Nurse to bring Mummy down, and they can take you back something to eat and drink.'

As soon as I started to wake up a bit more, the Nurse went to get my Mum.

Back to the ward

'How are you feeling? All right? Shall we get you back to the ward then? We'll go and get a porter then shall we, and give you a big wheel back.'

We all went back to the ward together. The porter was pushing me in the bed with wheels as I still felt a bit sleepy.

We got back to the ward, I climbed into bed and the nurse went to get me something to eat and drink. She asked if I could feel where the doctor had done my operation and offered me some medicine.

Play Activities

After I'd had a little rest the Play Specialist came down and offered me something to do.

'Are you feeling up to doing something, do you think, while you are waiting to go home? What are you in the mood for? You could do some painting, or some Hama beads, or do you fancy some K-nex? OK, I'll get the paints.'

Painting

'Hello Heather, having a nice time painting there? Are you ready to go home? Are you feeling OK? Excellent. What we need to do is we need to take this out of your hand, OK, and I need to explain your medicines to your Mum, so I'll just put your medicines here for a minute. So we'll take this out of your hand first.'

After a little while I felt much better. The Nurse came to give me some medicines to take home and took the special straw out of my hand, then I could go home.

'Do you want to help me take the little sticky plaster off? You can start it off if you like. That's brilliant.'

Staying over

Some of you will need to stay in hospital overnight. Your Mum or Dad can stay with you in a bed like this next to yours.

Going home

'Have you got everything, ready to go? Well done Heather, what a star!' 'Thank you'.

I hope that by watching my journey through hospital you will have learned what is going to happen to you when you come in for your operation. If you are worried about anything, ask your Mum, Dad, nurses or the play specialists, they will help you. Don't forget to bring your favourite toy or teddy, and your dressing gown and slippers. Bye!