Elijah has quite a fascination with medicine. The Magic School Bus Inside the Human Body is one of his favorite books, and he delights in examining us with his toy medical equipment. I offered to lend him my stethoscope but he seems to think the one in his veterinarian kit operates better. He knows about my work but I have made no special effort to encourage him in this regard. It's fascinating to watch his interests develop and I am amazed at the things he is able to grasp. The kid still confuses "breakfast" with "dinner" but he is able to have a rather sophisticated conversation about the circulatory system.
We were headed north on Clark this evening when Elijah noted "that lady has bad luck." When asked to clarify, he pointed out that there was a woman smoking cigarettes at the side of the road. He then explained that smoking "makes your lungs black." I noted that it can also cause lung cancer and he asked if doctors are able to cure it. We then embarked on a discussion about cancer treatment. It seems like every one of my answers was met with a new answer. Elijah is very curious about medications, how do they get to the cancer and how do they work? He also had some excellent questions about surgery, why doesn't all the blood come out? The idea that only some cancers can be cured was of particular interest and I suggested that he might be able to figure this out when he is a grown up. As we were pulling into the driveway, Elijah asked, "Mommy, where is heaven?" I told him I didn't know. He then explained that when he grows up he is going to get really strong binoculars so that he can find heaven. "Then I'm going to climb a big tree and swing on a rope to heaven." I wish I could remember exactly how he said the next part, but he essentially said he was going to find Grandma Anne in heaven and kill her cancer. "I don't think people can visit heaven without dying," I explained. "But you never know."
We were headed north on Clark this evening when Elijah noted "that lady has bad luck." When asked to clarify, he pointed out that there was a woman smoking cigarettes at the side of the road. He then explained that smoking "makes your lungs black." I noted that it can also cause lung cancer and he asked if doctors are able to cure it. We then embarked on a discussion about cancer treatment. It seems like every one of my answers was met with a new answer. Elijah is very curious about medications, how do they get to the cancer and how do they work? He also had some excellent questions about surgery, why doesn't all the blood come out? The idea that only some cancers can be cured was of particular interest and I suggested that he might be able to figure this out when he is a grown up. As we were pulling into the driveway, Elijah asked, "Mommy, where is heaven?" I told him I didn't know. He then explained that when he grows up he is going to get really strong binoculars so that he can find heaven. "Then I'm going to climb a big tree and swing on a rope to heaven." I wish I could remember exactly how he said the next part, but he essentially said he was going to find Grandma Anne in heaven and kill her cancer. "I don't think people can visit heaven without dying," I explained. "But you never know."
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