Eight-year-old boy going into surgery asks doctor to fix his teddy bear

OTTAWA: An eight-year-old boy, going into surgery, requested a surgeon to fix his teddy bear in Halifax.

Jackson McKie, who was under the knife himself, like most young patients brought a stuffed toy to the operating room with him. After he was administered anaesthesia, McKie asked if his doctor could also fix a tear in his fluffy friend. Dr Daniel McNeely couldn’t say no and now photos of him patching up the teddy bear has been melting hearts online.

Posting two photos of him fixing the small teddy, the neurosurgeon attached with the IWK Health Centre wrote, “Patient asks if I can also fix teddy bear just before being put off to sleep … how could I say no?” The photo is going viral nearly 20,000 shares at the time of writing. Pictures showed the doctor ready for surgery with gloves and mask on, ‘operating’ the brown teddy bear whose face is covered by a tiny mask!

“I thought if there was something I could do to help make him feel better, it seemed like a simple gesture and I was only too happy to oblige,” McNeely told The Canadian Press after the photos struck the chords of thousands of people across the globe.

“I thought it might make a few people smile, that was the only intention I had,” he added. “I’m glad that others are enjoying it,” the report said.

According to the National Post, the specialist asked the nurses to prepare a small table with some tools after the boy’s surgery. The doctor used leftover stitches from McKie’s procedure to patch up the bear, he refers to as ‘Little Baby’. Asked about the photo, he informed that a medical resident at the IWK Health Centre snapped the unusual moment.