Amy Beethe walked into a pre-operation room in January 2022 and was struck when she saw her patient: a small, underweight child in a hospital bed, covers pulled up to his chin.
The 4-year-old was scheduled for a heart catheterization. He did not have a parent or guardian with him. His eyes scanned the room, she said, wide and full of fear.
“You could tell he was scared and nervous, and didn’t know anyone,” said Beethe, a pediatric cardiac anesthesiologist at Children’s Nebraska. “I don’t really see kids by themselves in pre-op.”…