Tim, I completely agree with you. It is not right, and I would gladly stop working if children did not get sick anymore. It would be a pleasure to do only research and spend my days with DNA arrays and comparative genomic hybridization. However, this is not the case, and I do try to make their lives (and that of the parents) the best and easiest possible. This is what drives me at work everyday.
Also, children are exceptionally resilient, they heal much faster than adults and with only a few sad exceptions our outcomes are excellent. It is a pleasure to see a child that was very sick only a few days back playing and running around the ward. Besides, doing surgery always gives you the feeling that you are concretely, hands-on helping that patient the best way you can.
Gator, I completely understand the high number of surgeries due to hydrocephalus. Those shunts get clogged so often. That is why nowadays there is a shift towards endoscopic ventriculostomy, in which the flow is restored within the brain with minimally invasive surgery. When it works, no more shunts are needed.
BTW, those glasses can be bought from specific medical supply firms. They are not cheap, but work amazingly well.
Cheers all,
Alex