HALIFAX—Halifax pediatric neurosurgeon Dr. Daniel McNeely was recently prepping a child for surgery when the youngster asked if the doctor would also fix a beloved teddy bear that needed extra TLC.

So, he happily obliged his young patient at the IWK Health Centre.

In the process, McNeely’s second tweet in the history of his four-year-old Twitter account went viral.

“Patient asks if I can also fix teddy bear just before being put off to sleep ... how could I say no?,” the doctor tweeted on Sunday morning.

By Monday afternoon that tweet, posted by the doctor on his Twitter account @pdmcneely, had been retweeted by more than 2,800 people and was liked more than 5,600 times.

The post was accompanied by two photos. The first shows McNeely ready for surgery, gloves and mask on, working on a small brown teddy bear whose face is covered by a tiny mask.

“Neonatal face mask — helps to preserve the teddy bear’s anonymity!” McNeely replied to one commenter.

The second photo shows him with a scalpel in one hand, a pair of scissors in the other, poised over the bear.

An anesthesiologist who replied to the post noted “Human pediatric neurosurgeon AND ursine pediatric orthopedic surgeon...impressive!

Another tweet to McNeely stated “Ahhh. I broke my arm when I was 5. The A & E staff also put a plaster cast on Tiny Tears arm.”

McNeely is also an associate professor, chief of pediatrics and director of residency training in the division of neurosurgery at Dalhousie University.

An account that highlights the work of Dalhousie University’s researchers, surgical faculty, residents and grad students was one of the almost 100 Twitter accounts that had replied to McNeely’s tweet by Monday afternoon.

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“Anyone who knows the wonderful Dr. McNeely, no surprises! But owning twitter for the day — boy that is impressive! Patient’s patient care....going the extra mile,” noted the @DALsurgresearch tweet.

McNeely told the Canadian Press he has looked after eight-year-old Jackson McKie since he was an infant. He couldn't say no when the boy asked him to fix a tear in his fluffy friend right before his surgery last Thursday.

The doctor used leftover stitches from McKie's procedure to patch up the bear, Little Baby, while a medical resident at Halifax's IWK Health Centre snapped the photos that have since gone viral and warmed many hearts.

With files from Canadian Press

Yvette d’Entremont is a Halifax-based reporter focusing on health and environment. Follow her on Twitter: @ydentremont

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