A Thousandth Opinion (by Albert Lim Kok Hoo)

published in Khaleej Times on Nov 11, 2009

I know a man who has seen a thousand doctors. Let us call him Thomas. He is 80 years old but even so, a thousand is a huge number. In a year, he would have seen 12 new doctors on the average. A thousand different doctors means perhaps 20,000 consultations. Sometimes Thomas sees three different doctors in one afternoon.

Some of Thomas's friends are doctors. Some of his doctors become his friends. His doctors range from the junior to the senior, from...