Photo Captures Nurse's Beautiful Reaction After Scared Child Awakens From Surgery

Once in a while, the brave people who work in this sector share a slice of their day with us, and it can catch a lot of people off guard.

In the caption, he wrote, "It’s easy to separate yourself from these scenes. In fact, as healthcare professionals we have to. Less than 5 minutes after this code, I returned to the ER floor where I was yelled at by a patient with back pain because I had forgotten to bring him graham crackers. But he doesn’t understand. He can’t understand. This is what we do, this is what we give. Never forget the human element. Never take it for granted. And never forget to save a piece of yourself."

At the end of the day, nurses, doctors, paramedics — anyone who helps in a crisis is a hero. And this next story is no different.

He had underwent an undisclosed surgery earlier this year and was scheduled for another procedure to remove his tonsils last month.

Although services exist to mediate the difficult experience of being a child patient, like therapy dogs, there's nothing quite like the kindness of another person to comfort a child — and that's what little Slade was lucky enough to get.

"We had been in the children's hospital, so we were kind of nervous just going to a hospital to have it done," she explained.

While Layla was sitting in the waiting room, some staff members approached to tell her the good news.

As she said, "They came out and said, 'He's awake,' and we thought, 'Oh, my goodness.'"

Before she could be reunited with Slade, a team of nurses would need to ensure his vital signs were at normal levels.

As Nurse Annie Hager told WNEP, "When I told him Mom couldn't be there, he asked if I would snuggle him and I said, 'sure will,'"

And as you can see, she was true to her word.

As she said, "You want someone to treat your child the way you would treat them, you know, so whenever I turned the corner and saw them, I looked at my fiancé and we both went, 'Aww!' We both started getting a little teary-eyed."

She said, "Anyone that works up there would have done the same thing."

Nonetheless, Slade and his family wanted to show her what she meant to them.

He had brought her flowers and was ready to give her a warm hug along with them.

Hager said, "I cried, yeah. It's humbling."

UPMC Susquehanna, the medical center where Hager works, shared their story on Facebook with a heartfelt note about nursing, "When Slade Thompson of Renovo woke up from tonsil surgery, all he wanted was to be snuggled and cared for. Not thinking twice, Annie Hager, RN, climbed right into the bed and snuggled the little boy."

"It’s nurses like Annie – who show true compassion – that keep our patients happy."

h/t: WNEP