When I was just a wee lad I went in for what is commonly known in medical parlance as "technical difficulties" and they had to take me apart and put me back together.  I was only 5 at the time so the details are vague but there are two things that clearly stand out.  The first is that I got a Star Wars toy x-wing fighter as soon as I came out surgery and that in my drug-induced haze I played with it all the way home.

The second thing is that I was a little bit scared.  Not really scared of the surgery since I was just a kid and I had no idea that "surgery" actually meant cutting you open and poking at your pink stuff.  No, I was scared of the huge hospital, of all the tension I could feel in my parents, in the way everyone talked softly, in the funky smell of the halls.  I was scared right up to the point I walked into the Children's Ward.  As soon as I walked through that door I was in a kid wonderland.  Bright toys, huge stuffed animals, coloring books, a set of bunk beds, plenty of room to run around in and the encouragement to do so.

That bit of distraction, letting me run around while my parents talked with the doctor about my surgery, is probably the biggest reason I didn't develop a fear of hospitals.  That's why when I came across the Child's Play Charity I was instantly struck with how great an idea it is.  I'll let their site tell the full story but basically it's a charity where hospitals each have a wish list of child-specific items and you get to buy them for the hospital.