How Can Parents Prepare Mentally & Help Prepare A Child For Brain Surgery?
The unknown outcomes of pediatric brain surgery can be overwhelming for you as a parent, but it is all the more daunting for a child. Being hospitalized and undergoing brain surgery can be really appalling for anyone, let alone a child. This is when parents need to hold their babies and assure them they will be right by their side throughout. You cannot rely on the medical staff to help your child get ready for pediatric brain surgery mentally. They need you. Because you are your child's best advocate, you as a parent may play a significant part in preparing your child to stay in the hospital for brain surgery.
The optimal way for many parents to support their kids is unclear. As when a child needs surgery, parents frequently experience a wide range of emotions. It's common to feel anxious, fearful, helpless, and even angry. Your thoughts and expectations regarding the procedure for your child may have an impact on how well they handle their hospital stay. Even when parents try to disguise their emotions, children have a very clear sense of what their parents are experiencing.
Therefore, to help you help your child get through the childhood brain tumor treatment, we have some suggestions.
Preparing Children For Pediatric Brain Surgery
It is advised that all children undergoing surgery for pediatric brain tumor be ready both mentally and physically. Depending on their age and how you believe they would handle visiting the hospital for an operation, you as parents should decide how and when to start mental preparation for surgery for your child.
All kids (apart from infants) should be informed that they are having an operation and heading to the hospital, and that they will receive some basic information on what will occur while they are there.
As a parent, you are in the greatest position to judge how much information about the procedure your child can tolerate and how they typically manage unfamiliar or stressful circumstances. Please let the medical staff know how you anticipate your child acting both before and after the procedure. When you arrive at the hospital, describe how you prepared your child and how you responded to their queries.
The following advice will assist parents in preparation for pediatric brain surgery:
- Easy Explanation: Explain things simply and in terms that your child can grasp quickly. You may help your child rectify any incorrect information or misconceptions they may have by answering their questions honestly and simply discussing going to the hospital for an operation.
- Highlight The Positive Results: Ensure that your youngster understands how the surgery will make them better. You can emphasize on terms such as "help you grow," "help you stay strong and healthy," or "help a part of your body fulfill its job”. While talking about the positive points, if you think your child can take it, you can also introduce the risks of pediatric brain surgery to them.
- Explain The Procedure: Let your child know when the surgery is scheduled and how long they will be in the hospital as it is a part of brain surgery preparation. Reassure them by saying how often you will visit them and when you will be able to stay with them.
- Clear Their Doubts: Urge them to inquire about the procedure and to talk about it. Your youngster can learn more about visiting the hospital, consulting the doctor or reading about it. Ask them what they learnt and as they tell you the narrative, ask your child to sketch a picture of the hospital visit and write it down. After that, have a conversation with your child or read the story to them.
- Observe & Understand: Watching your child play can sometimes reveal a lot about how they are feeling. Playing at the hospital with dolls, stuffed animals, and puppets might help your child comprehend and deal with what happened at the hospital before and after the procedure.
Preparing Yourself Mentally For Your Child’s Brain Surgery
Nothing compares to the fear of losing your child. This fear becomes more real when you have to see your child undergo a complex surgery with uncertain outcomes. However, more than you, your child needs you to be strong as they seek strength and support from their parents. Therefore, it is crucial to prepare yourself mentally before you help your child. Here are some simple tips on how you can stay strong while your precious child undergoes pediatric brain tumor treatment.
- Take Care Of Yourself First: They may sound selfish, but you can’t pour from an empty cup. Therefore, it is extremely important that you take care of your mental and physical well-being. This becomes all the more crucial as it may have a negative impact on the child. Kids pick up on your anxiety and get anxious too.
- Educate Yourself As Much As Possible: Before you get into the process of preparing your child, educate yourself about the benefits, procedures and risks of pediatric brain surgery. Reading more and more about it or talking to the doctors will help you soothe your paranoia and be realistic.
- Minimize Separation Anxiety: Pediatric brain tumor treatment and surgery may need days and weeks of hospitalization. It is natural for it to affect you as much as it may affect your child. Therefore, start working on separation anxiety by talking to your doctors.
The Takeaway
How to mentally prepare for pediatric brain surgery is a question parents often ask before their children's surgery. What you can do is be aware of your child's procedure. The surgeon for your child will visit with you before the procedure to go over what will happen both during and after the procedure. The clinic or unit nurse may also provide you with details on your child's procedure and hospital stay.
Inquire whether there is any written material (such as booklets) available about the procedure your kid underwent. Request a discussion with your nurse about this information. Any terminology or concepts that you don't understand, ask the nurse to explain them. Many individuals are unfamiliar with some terms that doctors and nurses use.
Read Next: Childcare & Rehabilitation After Pediatric Brain Tumor Surgery
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