I have been having surgery since I was 2 years old. My first two surgeries were at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and then I switched to Johns Hopkins because my dad got out of the Army. Dr. Kashima at Johns Hopkins did my surgeries until he retired in May of 1999. He remembers me when I was a little baby. Now Dr. Clark Rosen at University of Pittsburgh does my surgeries.

When I was little we used to know it was time for surgery when my voice would get very hoarse. Sometimes the kids would call me Cookie Monster voice. Over the last few years I usually have my surgeries based on when my breathing gets bad. Usually my mom can tell I am having trouble breathing at night. Sometimes I notice that my breathing is bad when I play and I don’t tell my mom because I know that she is going to take me to the hospital for another surgery.

When I first started having surgery at Johns Hopkins we had surgery in the main hospital. I always had the same nurses take care of me at the Same Day Care Center and Recovery Room (Mary, Treen and Vicki). They used to call me the popsickle kid because everytime I woke up after surgery I would always ask for a popsickle. Vicki also knew that I didn’t like to get my gown on for surgery until they were ready to take me upstairs.

When I was little my mom or dad used to always go into the operating room with me and wait with me until I fell asleep. Dr. Maxwell used to always sing to me when I was falling asleep because I didn’t like to have the mask put on my face. Now the only time I will let them put the mask on me is if I do it myself when they are putting me to sleep. When I am ready I take deeps breaths and put the mask on and then when I wake up later I am in the recovery room. I don’t let my parents come with me into the operating room anymore because they just make them leave when I fall asleep.

I really like the team that works with Dr. Rosen to do my surgeries. I always talk with my nurse about beanie babies because she collects them to. I always bring one or two beanie buddies to surgery with me. Dr. Rosen asks me everytime I come in which one I have this time. Sometimes he jokes around about how they play with them while I am asleep. Last time I had my duck beanie buddy with me and he said that when I was asleep they started throwing him up and shooting at him with a nurf gun. What he didn't know was that I like to shoot skeet with my daddy which is kind of like that.

Most of the time we do my surgeries as an outpatient. I liked having the surgeries in the Outpatient Center at Hopkins because most of the time I get to go home afterward and because all the nurses who have always taken care of me were there. Also, Ms. Brenda always remembers my birthday and gives me hugs everytime I come in. I didn't like having the surgery in the Hopkins main hospital because the smell of the operating rooms is different and sometimes makes me sick to my stomach. Sometimes I even can smell that smell on the hospital gowns, and I don’t like to put them on until I have to and if I stay in the hospital I change into my own gown as soon as I can. I also don’t like to wear the hospital slippers -- I like to wear my own socks into the operating room. The surgeries are kind of similar at University of Pittsburgh, but it is not quite the same. I started getting used to things by the end of the summer and they started getting used to me.

In the recovery room at Hopkins most of the time Treen or Mary wakes me up. They usually let me sleep a while and didn't let my dad bug me too much. At University of Pittsburgh they don't let my mom and dad in the recovery room with me unless something is wrong because it might disturb the other patients. I don't like that much. I liked to wake up and see them. When I wake up they usually will ask me right away if I want my apple juice. I always ask for apple juice because it doesn’t hurt and it is cold and wet. Then when I have to go to the bathroom they always help me to get up.

I don’t like it when my surgery is scheduled late in the day because I can’t eat before surgery. If I have to have surgery I like it first thing in the morning. That way I get home for lunch.

I think the worst thing about having surgery all the time is always having to be at the hospital and the smell of the operating room. Some people ask me if what I don’t like most about having RRP is the hoarse voice, but that doesn’t bother me much. Having to always have surgery and not always being able to play and do things that other kids do outside because of my breathing bothers me more than anything else.

updated 9/14/99