MY SON SMILED RIGHT BEFORE SURGERY, BUT SOMEHOW HE MADE ME STEP OUT OF THE ROOM
He was sitting on the hospital bed in an oversized gown covered in cartoon ducks, a flimsy blue cap tilting off his head, and a grin stretched across his face like this was some kind of dress-up game rather than a pre-op waiting room. His little legs dangled above the floor, and despite the sterile…