Going to surgery can be horrifying at any age. However, there is one hospital that gives kids mini cars to drive themselves to the operating room in order to reduce their fear and anxiety.
Doctors Medical Center in Modesto, California, has 2 mini cars for its littlest patients to give themselves a ride towards the operating room, finding that the ride helps to calm their nervous system.
The hospital’s smallest surgical patients are offered a pink Volkswagen Beetle and a black Mercedes. The hospital bought the Mercedes, and the Beetle was donated by an employee and her family.
“When the children find out they can go into the operating room riding in a cool little car, they light up and, in most cases, their fears melt away,” pre-op nurse Kimberly Martinez, who came up with the idea, told CBS News.
“In addition, when parents see their children put at ease, it puts them at ease as well,” Martinez said.
Martinez also said that she immediately noticed a difference when they have introduced the cars and she says she believes and hopes that the benefits from them will be great and long-lasting. Because, as she says, it is very traumatizing for young children to be taken away from their parents as they are taken into the operating room. This idea helps both kids as well as their parents.
The cars they are using are made specifically for children aged between 2 and 7. They have a stereo and an MP3 player with different kinds of music, and they also have functioning headlights, dashboard lights, and taillights.
The cars can be driven by the kids themselves or by remote control. They have a horn, a seatbelt, and working doors which makes them also very safe.
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