It wasn’t much, really. Just a small gesture by a big man.

This was right after surgery Wednesday morning as I reported a story about the Future Healthcare Professionals program through Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital in Barrington. I was there to observe and talk to 17-year-old Emily Pistorius who, like me, was getting her first taste of surgery.

The patient was a blond-haired, 7-year-old Algonquin girl with Down syndrome. When we met her earlier that morning, she was hugging her stuffed dinosaur tight – overwhelmed by all the commotion, but no less willing to show it off upon request.