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as told by Barb Janett
He was scared to death, but he tried not to show it. When my 7-year-old son, Jack, found out he needed to have his tonsils and adenoids removed, he tried to look brave, but his eyes watered a little as he asked in a small voice, “Will it hurt?”
 Otolaryngologist Dr. Brian Sieck gently reassured Jack (and his parents!). Then he asked, “Hey, do you want to play the tattoo game?” Jack immediately perked up as he listened to Dr. Sieck explain how he hides a rub-on tattoo on kids while they’re under anesthesia. After waking up from surgery, the kids have to try to find where he hid it. Jack excitedly picked out his tattoo and looked forward to the game.
The nervous tension during the long, early-morning ride to Jack’s surgery was cut by a lively discussion about possible places Dr. Sieck might hide Jack’s tattoo. Jack, his dad and I all made guesses as to where we thought it might be.
After the surgery, Dr. Sieck came to the waiting room to explain what he encountered during surgery and that everything went well. As he was walking away, he stopped and looked back with a big smile and said, “Oh, by the way, the tattoo is on the bottom of his foot.”
We immediately went to see Jack in the Recovery Area. His first conscious words were, “Where did Dr. Sieck hide my tattoo?”
Every day Gundersen Lutheran uses its superior technology and wonderfully talented medical professionals to save people’s lives and treat illnesses. But, it is often the small things that have the biggest impact—like developing a game to help alleviate kids’ fear about surgery and giving them something to look forward to.
Jack wore his tattoo like a badge of honor. And as his mother, that was one tattoo I didn’t mind him getting.
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