WHAT DO YOU TELL A 4-YEAR-OLD??

"So, have you said anything to Paige about this surgery and if so, what?" That is a common question I have gotten asked a LOT especially recently.

 

Well, I can say we talk about my surgery openly and we don't try to hide anything, but I haven't told her a whole lot. I mean really...how do you explain to your FOUR year told that you are about to have your whole stomach removed, but yet nothing currently is wrong with it? I have tip-toed around this quite a bit. To a four year old, I'm sure when you talk "stomach," they don't think about the organ and most likely think about the whole abdominal area. So, if I told her I was having my stomach removed, I can ONLY imagine what she would picture...just the whole middle cut out and sewn back shut? Also, I don't want to confuse her and tell her that they are "fixing" my stomach because really nothing is "wrong." There's just a very large chance there could be later. So, she knows I'm having surgery and probably relates it to her surgery for tubes. She knows that I may be very tired and possibly feeling sick when we get back. She knows I won't be able to pick her up for awhile and she won't be able to run and jump on me to give me a hug. She knows she's going to have to be a good helper and claims, "Don't worry, Mom, I'll pick up all my toys anytime you ask." (Um...if she wasn't 4 and actually knew how to write full words, I might ask for that in writing.) And probably more than all of that, she knows she is getting a WHOLE week with Grandma and Grandpa and she couldn't be more thrilled. If getting a whole week with Grandma and Grandpa is what she takes away from surgery, great! One day, when she's a little older, I'll explain the WHOLE bit. Plus, I'm sure it all might sink in a little more and she may have questions for me once she sees the scars. I think, for now, this is plenty enough for her to think about!