Well talking about allergies, you know, as physicians one of the important parts of the examination is to make sure we check the patient for any allergies. Then we can safely give appropriate treatment as necessary. Mostly, in my case we check for allergies to antibiotics.
So one evening I was sitting in my living room, and the phone rang. I got a page, and I soon was prescribing some medication to a patient, but of course, first I checked with her if she was allergic to anything. My 5 year old son was sitting next to me and he said, “Dad, what is allergy?” And so, trying to reach him on his level, I did my best to explain it to him.
I said “Son, you know, there are certain medications that people don’t feel good about after taking them.” So then he says, “So, so what do you do Dad?” So I told him that we try to give people those medications that don’t make them feel bad. Well, he nodded his head and walked away. And I guess it was a new word for his vocabulary.
A few weeks down the road, I come home one day and my son comes running to me with big excitement. He says, “Dad, I have to tell you something!” Now, his eyes were wide open and his eyebrows were highly arched, and he had a pretty serious look about him.
And he says, “Dad I have an allergy, and I don’t feel good about it. So I thought I should tell you.” I said, “Well, what are you allergic to?” He says, “Dad, I’m allergic to math.” I laughed and said, “Alright, we can fix that. You don’t have to do any math then.” He smiled and walked away, and I thought, how amazing… how does an innocent mind perceive allergy medicine.
