Does your heart go on vacation?

doi:10.1136/bmj.328.7444.890

BMJ 2004;328:890 (10 April), doi:10.1136/bmj.328.7444.890

Filler

Does your heart go on vacation?

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Carlos, a quiet 7 year old with light brown tousled hair andbig brown eyes, arrived with his mother for his yearly checkup. He sat on the examination table, swinging his legs backand forth.

As I walked in, Carlos told me he had a question. "What is yourquestion?" I asked.

"Can you check my mom to see if she can have another baby?"he asked with sincerity and thoughtfulness.

"Would you like another baby at your house?" I asked, watchinghis 2 year old sister climb on to his mother's lap. Carlos talkedabout his cousin, who had a new baby, and how he liked babies.We decided that the decision about whether his mother had anotherbaby would be up to his parents. His mother smiled.

Satisfied, Carlos had another deep question. "Does your heartgo on vacation?" he asked, becoming fidgety.

"Tell me more about . . . [Full text of this article]

Elizabeth Rider, codirector

Communication Skills Teaching Program, Harvard Medical School, Boston MA, USA