Big Questions from A Small Boy

I got this patient in the emergency room while on call, 12yrs old boy studying in 8th standard. By the looks & activities he looked hyperactive child with lot of curiosity in him.

He had injured his left index finger while playing football (soccer). He presented with swelling at the base of the finger & pain at the same site. When I stated examining him he was apprehensive about the pain that I’ll cause so I started asking various general questions not related to the injury itself.

He turned out to be a big fan of football in general & Manchester United in particular (same as myself). He was interested in science. He had forgotten about the Spanish triumph & the brilliant matches we saw in the European Cup this year. He responded by saying that its tough to follow football so closely with all the burden of studies in school, class test every week & the private tuitions at home. The came the bombardment of the questions from him & I was really glad that I was able to answer them all.

We were in the Radiology Department getting his hand X-rayed; he asked what is this “Dark Room”?? What do you do in the dark room?? How do you see in it?? What is the light source in the room?? How do you develop the x-ray films??

Anyway the x-ray was ok; he had suffered soft tissue injury to his index finger. So while I was doing the “Buddy Strapping” of the fingers came the next round.
What is a vaccine?? How does a vaccine act?? What are the microbes?? How do the weakened microbes produce immunity in the body?? What are the antibodies?? How are they formed??
And then came the final volley of questions. How do I keep my hand?? How do I take a bath?? For how long do I have to keep my fingers strapped?? What happens if it does not heal?? What medicine do I have to take?? For how long do I have to take the medicine?? When do I come next??

To the last question I replied day after tomorrow. He made a sad face & said, “I have already planned my evening of that day. I’ll be going out for a movie so can I come in some other day??”