Asthma Treatment at Children's Hospital

Re: Tonsilectomy & Other Surgeries at Children's Hospital:
Many parents are not aware that Children's Hospital (both the outpatient surgery center and the regular hospital) has a wonderful group of highly trained social workers called ''Child Life'' counselors who will meet with you and your child to show your child the masks and other potentially scary things they will see when they come for surgery. This brief visit will help prepare them and empower them, and take much of the fear out of the surgery. Many doctor's offices do not understand the value of this (free) service and do not mention it to parents. ASK your doctor's office or call the hospital to schedule a Child Life meeting a few days before the surgery (call to schedule as soon as you know your date to be sure to get an appointment). It's too stressful to do the same day as surgery, but you can combine it with the pre-op appointment if that's on a different day. (Also, we read a great book called ''Goodbye Tonsils'') Suzanne

My 8-year-old daughter has recently been diagnosed with tethered cord. She will be entering Children's Hospital in Oakland in a week or two to have surgery to correct this defect in her spinal cord. Her neurosurgeon is Dr. Nagle. If anyone has any experience with this condition, or with surgery at Children's, or any advice on how to make this as untraumatic as possible for her, me, and her 3-year-old sister I would be most grateful. You may email me directly. I am a single parent with no family in the area, and have recently used up all my sick leave and most of my vacation leave because I have been out with pneumonia, and I'm feeling a little overwhelmed by it all ... Melinda