Diagnosis

After doing the round with Dr. Lai, the consultant whispered a few words to my master - who gave several assuring nods and said, "Yes ... I shall arrange."

I had no time to guess what my master arranged. We saw a few consultations together in the rest of the morning, then I took a short nap while my master had a quick lunch.

The afternoon clinic was exceptionally busy. There were quite a few respiratory patients, and I enjoyed going through each of their back and conveying all those funny breath sounds (or lack of sound) to my master - although I was not sure who I could help in their management.

While I was pondering to whom I could contribute, my friend in the other pocket of my master's white coat - the pager I mean - shouted.

Someone was calling.

My master took my dark-skin colleague and looked at the digital screen; the number was not a familiar one.

He picked up the phone.

"Yes ... I am. Oh ... how could that be ? Yes, yes ... I shall arrange at once ..." He seemed rather apologetic.

After he put back the phone, my master turned to a colleague at the other side of the room and said, "You know what. It's a call from the echocardiogram unit; that woman has atrial myxoma !"