“How could I say no?”
A Canadian neurosurgeon has gone viral after he shared a photo of a life-changing, high-stakes operation he performed…on his patient’s teddy bear.
Dr. P. Daniel McNeely was asked to fix the fluffily friend of his patient, 8-year-old Jackson McKie, as the young boy was being brought into surgery himself.
According to the BBC, the teddy is named Little Baby – and he’s always by Jackson’s side.
Jackson suffers from hydrocephalus, an accumulation of cerebrospinal fluid. Dr. McNeely, who works at the IWK Health Centre in Halifax, Nova Scotia, has been one of his primary neurosurgeons since he was born.
Dr. McNeely was repairing a shunt, a small tube that helps drain the fluid from the little boy’s brain and release the pressure, before he operated on Little Baby.
Little Baby was diagnosed with a tear in the underarm – and given an “oxygen mask” to monitor his vitals as he went through the procedure.
Patient asks if I can also fix teddy bear just before being put off to sleep… how could I say no? pic.twitter.com/WOKFc5zr91
— P. Daniel McNeely (@pdmcneely) September 30, 2018
Dr. McNeely told CBC that while kids bring their stuffed toys into the operating room for comfort, it was the first time he had gotten the request for a dual operation.
Both patients are recovering after successful procedures.
Jackson’s father, Rick, told the news outlet that the boy was “over the moon” when he woke up.
He added:
“He was so proud. He had Little Baby laying up in the hospital bed with him and everything.”
