How The Colorado Children’s Hospital Has Transformed My Thoughts On Hospitals

Survival Girl06
Nov 4 · 3 min read
Colorado Children’s Hospital

I am 13 years old and have cancer. I got diagnosed with cancer in July 2019, and have been getting all my surgeries and treatments at the Colorado Children’s Hospital. I have gotten a biopsy, a port placed, and a major leg surgery where they took out about five inches of my left tibia. I am also getting chemotherapy at Children’s. I had to have six 35 day cycles of chemo, I have completed two and am starting my third cycle on November 5, after my third dressing change for my major leg surgery.

I enjoy getting my treatments at Children’s. The inpatient nurses are so kind and are also very thoughtful about your needs and how you like to do things. They support you in the best way that they can, to make your stay as comfortable as it can be. The surgeon’s team is just as great. They are calm, grounded, thoughtful, and nice. The surgeons are excellent at what they do and are also very interesting people once you get to know them a bit! I enjoy talking to my doctors, nurses, surgeon, and the surgeon’s team because they are all so thoughtful, and kind when talking to me.

I was so angry that I couldn’t go trick-or-treating on Halloween this year. I couldn’t because I had gotten my major leg surgery ten days earlier and was in a wheelchair. With six inches of snow and ice and 20 degree weather outside, which did not seem compatible for my wheelchair whatsoever! I had to go into the hospital on Halloween for a dressing change, which at first I wasn’t very excited about at all. I hadn’t even gotten into the hospital yet and people were already giving me, and tons of other kids, candy. I could tell this was going to be a great day. I got into the hospital and I heard someone scream “FLASH MOB” and I wheeled as fast as I could, out of the way.

There were tons and tons of people there that day and they were all dressed up. I got my dressing change then headed to the seventh floor, the Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders. That is the floor that I spend a lot of time on. I get chemo up there which consists of two to four nights on the inpatient side of the seventh floor. I went to the clinic side of the seventh floor and it was CRAZY! Everyone was dressed up and all the offices looked like crazy Halloween labs! I went through the whole clinic trick-or-treating and got a grand total of 25 pieces of candy, I was pretty darn happy.

I really appreciate how Children’s really goes crazy during different holidays, it helps the patients feel happy and excited and allows them to forget why they are even at the hospital. I enjoyed Halloween there, and I thought that was fun and crazy but boy was I wrong on the spectrum of fun and crazy at the hospital! Apparently, for the whole month of December, they have tons and tons of really famous people coming and visiting the kids and teens. I heard that a couple of years ago Michelle Obama came to the hospital! Also, Christmas day is apparently the best day to be at the hospital because they do lots of surprise stuff for everyone, and there are lots and lots of presents for all the patients. Also, there is a look good feel pretty program that comes two to three times a year. They bring lots of really expensive makeup and teach us how to use it, and then we get to take home some of the makeup and goodies that we mess around with throughout the day.

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I am 13 and recently got diagnosed with cancer. It requires chemotherapy, and I am looking for advice from others and hope I provide advice for others as well.

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