Signs You Might Have A Medically Complex Child no.4316

You come into Theatre Direct Admissions on the morning of your surgery, and can tell instantly which number your child's notes have been assigned.

Bonus points for being recognised by the anaesthetist and most of the surgeons from different specialities too.

Scary points for being removed from the communal area and seated in a quiet and empty room to sign the consent forms. And additional scary points for being told you're last on the list because yours is the big op for the day.

And random entertainment points for every time you spot someone stapling or sellotaping the box back together, especially if you have first witnessed it fall apart as they pick it up. Random entertainment points are useful things; a high score helps turn humiliation (leaking wee bag in the playroom) into humour, and helps turn feeding the bed errors into food for a blog entry. Ish.

Sadly minus points awarded for spending 2 hours in the night trying to comfort a deeply distressed and screaming child, before thinking to ask about medication and realising pain relief is now 90 minutes overdue. Bonus points for not murdering the nurse who both managed to turn up ten minutes after finally settling her to do a set of neuro obs, and them turned up at 6.30 with the comment that she had had a really good night, hadn't she. We won't murder her though; she's been lovely all week really and very poorly babies do take priority over grumpy stable six year olds.

Tia