Samantha

Santos 1
Where I Want to Be
At 7 a.m., in front of the front desk there he was, ready for one more day of
dedication and happiness. Aparicio is his name. His gray hair shows that he is about
forty-six year old, he is around 5 feet 5 inches tall, normal size for a Brazilian man; he
was wearing a blue T-shirt with the logo of his company, which showed the stylized face
of a smiling child, khaki pants, and he was holding a black backpack. He has worked for
an orthopedics company as a vendor in the Primary Childrens Medical Center Hospital
in Salt Lake City more than three years. The hospital is unpleasant place for a lot of
people; however, it is the place that Aparicio wanted to be.
Good morning Samantha, let me show you how everything works here, he said.
Please let me know what I can do and what I cant because is my first time in
American hospital, I replied to him.
First of all, he went to check in machine and add all his information there. After
that, he started to walk, and as he was moving through the hall, he greeted all the people
that he met on his way with a sincere smile. However, he was walking very fast. I asked
him: Why are you walking so fast? He answered, Because we have to be there fifty
minutes before the surgery starts, and we are a little bit late. I answered okay and
followed him. He went in the men bathroom to change his clothes, and he pointed me to
the ladies room. He came back ready to go to the OR (Operating Room). He took a deep
breath, his face was already serene and calm, and he went into the OR.
When Aparicio came back, he said that we were on time and everything was fine.
He also asked me if the compound smell of burnt flesh and formaldehyde was familiar
for me and if I was okay. I told him yes. I used this time to get to know more about him. I

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asked him his first experience in the OR, and he answered me with pleasure. He said: I
was very scared, I did not know what to expect. I asked friends and co-workers about
how to behave and what to do and not to do. I did not know if I was going to pass out
from the blood and the environment. Afterwards everything went just fine. Everyone in
the OR was very helpful and they were always willing to teach me. The Operating
Room is a place where surgeries happen in the hospital.
Back in the OR, Aparicio greeted the nurse and the scrubbing technician, and
made some jokes with them what showed how close he is to them. Aparicio went out of
the OR again and looked his sets and made sure that all his products were correct to begin
the surgery. The scrubbing technician began to organize her surgical table; the movement
in the room was intense. Nurses were opening scalpel, scissors, sutures, forceps, and
others surgical instruments were the scrubbing technician. At the same time the
anesthetist was preparing his own table and the nurse also was helping him. The nurse
played music. Aparicio chose to stay in the corner of the room to because it was empty;
also it is where he can see clearly everything that was happing at the same time that he
does not bother anybody. Even though it was an intense moment, the country music, and
the fun conversation about the weekend between nurses, scrubbing technician,
anesthetist, and Aparicio made everything flow comfortably. The scrubbing technician
asked Aparicio to bring his cases and quickly he did that; the nurse opened Aparicios
sets to the scrubbing technician when suddenly a skinny, blonde eight years old girl, with
her little plush bear in her arms, entered the OR. The nurse stopped and turned to the girl
with a dazzling smile. The little girl had one leg shorter than other and also proximal
femur ant-version deformity, which explained how hard it was for her walk.

Samantha Santos 3
How are you Stephanie? asked the nurse.
I am fine, just a little scared, but you know, I am already getting used to this
room because this is my third surgery, the little girl replied.
In that moment I witnessed a perfect harmony between health professional and
patient. The anesthetist gently took the hand of the scared girl, and whispered in her ear
that she was healthy person, and, as before, she would feel as good as new soon. I looked
at Aparicios face and I could feel how grateful he was to be there. Aparicio has a special
needs child, and he knows the trials and challenges that their families go through and the
importance of having the proper care for child.
This place is a childrens place where angels smiled upon seeing their little
frown open into a dazzling smile, and their eyes that are pouring tears now are drying,
said Aparicio. After the anesthetist had anesthetized the patient, Aparicio and the
scrubbing technician were ready to start the surgery; everything was opened and
organized in the surgical table. The doctor, the resident, and the fellow came in. Aparicio
greeted them and said that everything was ready. The intense movement in the room
began again. Aparicio went in the back of the room one more time. The doctors
positioned the patient, after that the doctors went to scrub. They went back in the room;
the nurse and scrubbing technician helped them with the sterile clothes and gloves. The
nurse moved her table closer to the patients bed, and Aparicio went closer to the
technicians table. He looked at everything that was on the table, took a deep breath, and
took his laser pointer. He showed item per item to the scrubbing technician and the
sequence of all instruments. At that time the doctor asked Aparicio step by step how to
put that nail in the patient, and calmly Aparicio explained everything.

Samantha Santos 4
During that time the nurse was sitting down and I could talk with her. I asked her
why she decided to work in a childrens hospital. Kids are adorable and this make my
work daily pleasant, she said. I also asked her what she thought about the vendors that
come to help in the surgeries. She said that she really like it because she does not need to
worry to about the bill, the material that she has to open, and, most important, when a
vendor is there, the environment is more calm because they can help the scrubbing
technician and also doctors, which makes the surgery easier. After three and a half hours,
the surgery was done and everything was great. Aparicio took notes on all the items that
were used in the patient in a spreadsheet. After that, Aparicio finished his job and said
thank you to the doctors and said goodbye to everyone.
I looked at Aparicio and I could feel that he was very satisfied with the surgery
result. I asked Aparicio in the end of the surgery, what he feels when works in the OR.
He said: We are nothing without other people's help, and I see that in everyday in the
OR. It can be very frustrating or gratifying. It always depends in our personal attitude and
knowledge of the products and procedures and how much you care about others. Usually
hospital makes most people feel sad or uncomfortable; however, for people like Aparicio,
this place makes him feel accomplished because he realize that his job could help save a
lot of lives and give to them opportunity to smile again. The OR is the place where angels
such as Aparicio, nurses, scrubbing technician, anesthetist, and doctors want to be in
order to save lives.