As a volunteer at the Arkansas Children’s Hospital, there are a lot of things to see and hear. Some things must remain confidential, but there are some things which are safe to share and too cute to keep to oneself.
Recently I was visiting with a young boy. He was cheerful and spoke with a strong southern accent. We played with an animal puzzle and he told me about his dog.
“It’s a white dawg. He likes to eat bones. Them white bones but we had to go to Walmart to get some more.” (last word had 2 syllables)
Me “Do you like bones?”
Boy: Scrunches nose. “No.”
Me: “Do you eat chicken?”
Boy: “I like chicken. I like them little macaronis and cheeeeese!”
He told me how he had his tonsils taken out and …”it didn’t even hurt. I drank grape juice. It was goooood. They put scissors in there and just took em out while I was asleep! It didn’t hurt.”
In the shadow of more serious reasons he was there, the tonsillectomy seemed minimal.
Later I walked past a room where an older boy was playing a toy guitar. I popped my head in and did the “Rockstar- stick your tongue out- hold your hand up” pose. He smiled and just kept jammin’.
In other news on the hospital campus, they’ve been undergoing some renovations and improvements. This beam was prominently displayed in front of the main entrance for passers-by, staff, volunteers, and patients to sign before it’s used in the South Wing. A little way to let the community be a part of the ACH family and show some support.
A signature with a marker, a puzzle with a child. The little things are what the big things are made of.
