Dear Allie,

Hi Allie! I hope that the ice thaws out tomorrow so I can show you around my job. JUST IN CASE, I thought I would show you some pictures I found online, and explain a few things for you.

First of all, you are very, VERY, brave! I saw the picture of your thumb and I can tell you one thing for sure! The worst part is OVER!!!! Your mom told me you hurt your thumb from falling off your bike. I bet that hurt so much! Surgery will be much better than the fall!

In the olden days, people had to stay overnight when they had surgery. You get to go home after surgery! That's great news. That means you can sleep in your own comfy bed, and watch TV, and have your mom bring you food and treat you like a Princess. ENJOY THAT TREATMENT WHILE YOU CAN!!!! When I had surgery, I was 20, and my mom made me foods I liked, and remember my boyfriend George?? He read a whole chapter book outloud to me (with character voices and everything). People treat you EXTRA NICE when you have surgery, so just enjoy that part as much as you can!

The morning of your surgery, you won't be able to eat or drink anything. You might feel a little bit hungry, but when surgery is over you can eat again. When you get to the hospital, you will check in and probably wait for a long time. Have you ever been to Cook's? It is SO COOL in there! Here's a picture of the outside:

Your nurse will be really nice. She will have you change your clothes, and you'll wear some funny stuff. You'll probably wear a hat that looks like a shower cap! I wear one of these EVERY DAY!!! They have you wear a hat so that no hairs fall out in the room. That way, there are no germs when you are having your surgery.

Before you have your AWESOME DREAM, they will check something called your "vital signs." Vital signs are your heartbeat, blood pressure, and oxygen. The doctors and nurses all went to school for a long time to know what these numbers mean. Since you'll be so sleepy and enjoying a fun dream while they work, they like to know what your "vital signs" are before sleepy-time! That way, if one of these numbers goes higher or lower, they give you the medicine that makes it back to normal! Here are some pictures:

You've probably had a doctor or nurse listen to your heart and lungs before, right?! Same thing on Monday. The stethoscope lets them hear your lungs breathing for you, and hear what your heart sounds like when it beats.

This was me a few years ago taking a girl's blood pressure!!! On Monday, there will probably be a machine that takes it for you. But there will be the "cuff" (the part that wraps around your arm), and it will squeeze tight, then release. The numbers will pop up on the screen, and your nurse will write them down.

There is something called a "pulse ox" (short for "pulse oximeter") that tells the doctors and nurses about the oxygen in your blood. There are several different brands out there, so I'm not positive what yours will look like. Sometimes it's just like a bandaid with a cord. Nothing pokes in your skin, it is all on the outside. None of these hurt at all!

Sometimes they are clunky. At my work, this is what they look like.

Okay, the next part. The "IV." 

This is usually the scariest part to most people, but I PROMISE it's not that bad! You've had a shot, right?? Okay, it hurts LESS THAN a shot. The nurse will put a little bit of numbing medicine on you, too, which helps a lot! You don't get that for shots!! An "IV" is the way the doctors and nurses can give you medicine while you're sleepy. You won't be able to swallow pills because you'll be sleeping! So they give you medicine in a tube that flows into your body! You won't even know it when they give you medicine because that part doesn't hurt at all. 

First the nurse will put something called a "tourniquet" (pronounced: TURN-i-KIT) around your arm. It looks kinda like this:

The only part that hurts is the first little stick (to "start the IV"), and as soon as it's over, you are DONE. The needle is OUT, and all that's left is a soft, squishy, little tube that gives you medicine. Nobody can feel that part! When you wake up and surgery is over, that will come out and that part doesn't hurt at all, either. You might not even remember it coming out! If the ice is gone tomorrow, I will let you help me start an IV on me, and you can see that it doesn't hurt that bad!

The IV sounds scary, I know. But here's the good news. When you wake up, and you are in the "recovery room," if you start to hurt at all, the nurse can give you medicine through the IV! You don't feel the medicine, and you don't have to wait for it to "kick in." It just takes care of it instantly! 

Have you ever noticed if you take medicine for a cold, or a stuffy nose, or even for a headache, it takes about 30 minutes (or if it's a cold, a few days!) for the medicine to work??? Well, an IV makes the medicine work IMMEDIATELY! So if you feel sick or hurt, it takes it away like THAT. Most people are scared to have the IV at the beginning, and then they love their IV because it makes them feel so much better. Also, when you are in recovery, your mom can be with you. She can even bring one of your American Girl Dolls if you want. Then, when your IV is out, you can go home and relax and enjoy being treated like a total princess!

When you are in the operating room, you will be having a very sweet dream. You will love the doctor called the "anesthesiologist." (pronounced: AN-us-THESE-EEEE-ah-lo-JIST). He will be able to give you medicine through your IV, and through a mask that will make you feel so happy and calm and giggly. 

These are what the masks look like at my work!

Do you know there are some people who have had surgery so many times, they are not scared anymore, and they say they actually LIKE going to sleep? Because the medicine that he gives you puts you in a really great mood, and then you fall asleep, and don't remember ANYTHING until you wake up! And then you get treated like a princess! You have nothing to be nervous about when it comes to sleeping. You will FOR SURE, DEFINITELY be asleep the whole time the doctors and nurses fix your thumb, and you will FOR SURE, DEFINITELY wake up in recovery. I have NEVER, EVER, seen anything go wrong! 

Remember that these doctors and nurses do so many surgeries, every single day! It is normal for the patient to be nervous, but the doctors and nurses are not nervous. You are probably 1 of 6 patients they will work on Monday. And they will do many on Tuesday. And Wednesday. And your doctor has probably done this EXACT SURGERY over 500 times. He will for sure do a great job. And the surgery is just FIXING your thumb, not making a new problem!

Oh, and I almost forgot the coolest part. There is kind of a secret, not-talked-about, club of people who have had surgery. We don't talk about it because we try not to brag about how brave we are. But when you are done on Monday, you will join the club. And that club includes me, Laura, Mimi, GrandDad, your mom, your dad, my mom, my dad, Uncle Dude, and many other people that you know, too! Poor Andy. Oh well, one day he will have one, too! We just can't act too cool in front of him. :-)

After your thumb is healed, we will show you the club handshake. But until then, you better take good care of your precious thumb!

I hope the weather warms up for tomorrow. Regardless, I hope this blogpost has made you feel like you know EVERYTHING about surgery on Monday! And if you get nervous, you can talk to me. Just call or text me! You're going to do so well!

Laura and I Love YOU SO MUCH!!!!!!!!! WE ARE PRAYING FOR YOU AND KNOW YOU'LL DO GREAT!