Who: Peyton Chronister, 8, of York, Dr. Caitlin Mammolenti and nurse Jasmin Ortiz.

What: Peyton recently had surgery to remove her tonsils and adenoids at WellSpan York Hospital. Dr. Mammolenti was her anesthesiologist, and Jasmin was one of her nurses.

Jasmin Ortiz (left) and Dr. Caitlin Mammolenti

The two were part of a caregiving team who put their arms around Peyton and her family during what felt like a scary day.

Shortly before her surgery, Peyton’s family bought her a stuffed dog named Arya, after a beloved family dog that recently passed away.

“The hospital said she could bring a special item that would make her feel more comfortable and we wanted to make sure that Arya was with her,” says Peyton’s mom, Sarah. “It was next to her the whole time before surgery. Every single person who saw her said, ‘Oh! Who do you have there?’ Everyone treated her with such patience and kindness. She wasn’t just another person to them.”

After Dr. Mammolenti gave Peyton a simple explanation of what she could expect in the operating room, she told her the OR team might do something special for Arya too.

The team then took Peyton to have her surgery. Afterward, Sarah and Peyton’s dad, Kyle, went to see their daughter, who was groggy and snuggled up in some blankets in the recovery area. Jasmin, who was feeding Peyton a slushy to soothe her sore throat, told her that Arya had a “boo boo” on its paw.

“Kyle said, ‘Sarah, look at the dog’s paw,’” Sarah recalls. “I started tearing up and laughing at the same time. The dog had green tape on its paw, the same tape that held the IV on Peyton’s hand, the same paw as the hand that had the IV.”

With the dog was a little anesthesia mask, the same kind of mask the team had showed to Peyton when they were explaining the surgery experience to her.

Anyone who knows Peyton knows how important these two gestures were, Sarah says. The team members took the time to both get to know her and to do the simple but meaningful things.

Words to live by: Jasmin, Dr. Mammolenti and their OR colleagues want kids and their families to feel comfortable in what can feel like an overwhelming experience.

“You really try and make it as non-scary as possible,” says Dr. Mammolenti, who is familiar and at ease with kids after growing up with younger siblings. “You talk to them about other things that are going on. We talked about her dog and tried to keep things as calm as possible and ease her and her family through the entire experience.”

The team also tries to explain surgery in a way that makes sense to kids and walk them through what to expect, right down to the ventilator that has a part that looks like a balloon.

“We tell them, ‘You’re going to see lots of lights and stickers, including a special one with a red light.’ We ask them if they think they can blow up this balloon we have,” the anesthesiologist says. “We try to keep it simple and take away the anxiety.”

The aftermath of surgery is important as well. When kids are waking up, they sometimes feel confused and emotional. So Jasmin made sure Peyton had her dog.

“I don’t have kids, but I just think if I did, what would I want for my little girl or my little boy?” Jasmin says. “Kids are always scared. They are just waking up. They just want to be comforted, that would be mom and dad, blanket or stuffed animal. They need to be reassured that hey, it’s OK and they are not alone. They are not able to control their emotions. It’s OK for them to cry. I try to make them as comfortable as much as possible.”

Sarah says, “Everything can feel so divided these days, but this is something that brings people together. We are all human. People who love and care about us, who come into work and make such a difference in a kid’s life, that takes a special person.”