Ryan is 9 years old, has Down syndrome, and that morning at Wisconsin Children’s Hospital it was his eighth surgery.
His Mike Wazowski stuffed animal, already worn out and with a broken arm, was waiting for him in the room. Surgeon Travis Groth thought of something that wasn’t in any protocol: when Ryan woke up from anesthesia, he wouldn’t be the only one with bandages.
With thread and gauze, Groth performed “surgery” on the toy before the boy opened his eyes. Stitches, bandaging, everything just like on the real patient. The hospital posted the photo on Facebook and racked up about 12,000 likes within hours. Ryan and Mike recovered together, at home, without either of them feeling different from the other.
