Usually our first stop at the children’s hospital is the lobby but it was quiet and the front desk person told us there were patients in surgery. So we headed up there instead. And it was good that we did! The moment we arrived, the doctor said, “I know somebody who really wants to see a kitty! He’s getting an IV put in right now.”
My human was assuming we were going to see some little kid, but when we walked in, it was a boy about 16 or 17 years old! Which just proves needing a kitty knows no age. He’d just been telling his parents he’d wished he’d brought his cat, and there I was. They all were really happy to see me.
The other patient was still sedated, so we went to rehab. A little girl was working with a physical therapist but they stopped when I came in so the little girl could spend time with me. I even did some tricks for her.
When we went back down to the lobby, it was packed, and Santa was there! The first kid I saw was in a wheelchair and only semi responsive to me. His mother had me sit on his lap and enthusiastically encouraged him to pet me while she took photos. We almost never know what is going on with the patients, but it seemed to be really important to her for him to feel the texture of my fur.
The next child we saw was much younger and also in a wheelchair. His legs were in casts. He didn’t have as much lap as the older boy! In fact, he was pretty tiny, but happy. A mother and her teenage daughter were also excited to see me. We have a Polaroid camera for photos, if patients want something physical to hold instead of their mom just taking phone photos. But this girl actually had her own Polaroid, which was totally unusual!
A couple of the last kids we saw in the lobby were siblings. The boy had severely deformed hands, but that didn’t stop him from petting me, and in fact, it felt really good! He and his sister were 6 years old, so they were three years younger than me. In fact, at this point, quite a few of my patients who are children are younger than me!
I finally made it to the exam rooms and saw several awesome kids, plus a doctor who remembered me by name! So it was a full morning. I was really happy to make so many kids happy this holiday season.
Here some of my past holiday therapy cat visits:
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