Let's continue our story... The news of the tendon elongation obviously hadn't affected the little girl in the slightest; she wasn't aware of it, or rather, not enough to fully understand what was really happening.
My parents almost felt guilty at having to choose whether to subject their daughter to another operation; they had to choose between making her endure potential constant bullying or trying to improve her life despite the initial suffering caused by the operation.
As the days passed, my parents felt less and less convinced of their decision. They didn't know if their little girl would be able to tolerate being under the knife, but what was even more worrying was the post-op recovery.
Time continued to pass, and the troubled little creature continued to go about her days as if nothing had happened, unaware of what she was increasingly facing; The only constant in her life was her family and her older sister, the only one who never judged her and would never judge her. A sister who, in some ways, she considered a mother. When her parents worked, she was there, the one who took care of spending time with her, the one who, in times of need, was there by her side, willing to overcome everything and everyone to protect her beloved little sister. A sister who, despite their arguments, would do everything to make her sister feel better, trying to make every day easier and less problematic.
Likewise, the little creature, born prematurely, would do everything for her sister. Despite the difficulties, she would move heaven and earth, and above all, she would ensure that her family didn't perceive even the slightest fear the little girl felt (even if, as I've already explained, they didn't fully understand its importance).
The day of the operation arrived, the little girl was taken to the hospital for pre-admission so that the next morning everything would be ready for the operation and everything; She underwent all the necessary checks and tests, and of course, the night before, she was forbidden to eat dinner. As her mother listened to her daughter's complaints, she felt a tightness in her stomach, almost as if she were in a sort of vice that was only getting tighter with each passing second.
When my mother saw the doctors and nurses enter with tears in her eyes, her first thing she did was look for support in the eyes of my father, who at that moment was holding his daughter's hand, who was also clutching her favorite stuffed animal, a gift from her sister the previous Christmas—a concrete example of the bond these two sisters had between them.
The little girl was laid on the bed and taken to the operating room accompanied by her physical therapist. Just before entering the cold room, the little girl greeted her parents warmly. They greeted her in return without showing any signs of fear. Finally, her sister greeted her, giving the littlest of the family a big hug and letting her go to face her fate.
The little girl entered the cold room and, still clutching her stuffed animal, observed the movements of the people around her, trying to catch every word and movement to try to understand what was really happening. One of these doctors approached the little girl and asked her what fruity scent she would like for her anesthesia. The little girl said that her favorite fruit was strawberries, so she would like to smell that before falling asleep. The doctor then began fiddling with some tools and after a few seconds approached the little girl, also showing her a small needle. Seeing the needle, the little girl was overcome with fear, but it didn't upset her too much; she had to be strong for her parents, for her sister, in short, for the whole family. After inserting the needle into the flesh of her arm, the little girl began to feel sleepy; her eyelids began to feel heavy, and she had difficulty keeping them open. She tried, but they began to become too heavy. She thought that maybe even if she closed her glasses, nothing would happen. At that same moment, a nurse brought a breathing mask closer to her, and a strawberry scent began to fill her nostrils. It was exactly the scent she loved so much, it reminded her of ice cream... the ice cream she'd had a few days ago with her family. At a certain point, however, after she started counting as the doctors had suggested, her eyes closed and everything went blank, like when you fall asleep. The anesthesia had just taken effect, and the surgery could now begin.
As always, let me know what you think and if you'd like me to continue my story.
