Preparing for VH on June 16th

Hi to all! I'm new here and just got my hyst scheduled for June 16th. I have found lots of helpful information here, but the one thing I can't seem to find is advice on what and when to tell your child about the upcoming surgery. I have a 5 year old daughter and don't know where to start in making her not worry, but know that I will be in the hospital for 2-3 days and that I am going to need quiet time when I get home. I want to give her time to absord it and ask questions if she has them. Any suggestions?? I'm just not sure how to approach this. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks!

You should get some good answers soon, there have been some great threads on this topic. Hopefully someone will provide the link for them. I don't know how.

Hi, I also have a 5, 4, and 3 year old. I told them that I had to go to the hospital so that the doctor could fix what was wrong with my "inside". They knew that they would be staying with friends the first few days of surgery and to them it was a "fun"adventure. They never asked questions about any of the details involved with mom going to the hospital. I wouldn't try to give more information than your daughter would really need. Good luck to you!

Hi! I have a 7 year old, plus older kids, 22 and 19. The 7 year old had to endure my 13 day hospitilization 5 years ago. Just keep the explanation simple and keep a positive attitude. Kids can really pick up on when you are worried. Make it an adventure with whoever will be taking care of them in your absence. And it is only for a couple of days! Then they will get to "help" mommy when she gets home playing the quiet game.

My surgery is on May 19. We are going to wait a few more days to tell him since he tends to be a worry wart about everything. Besides my previous hospitilization, his grandma was hospitilized for most of last year, so he knows that it is not too scary.

Good luck!