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My grandmother has thus far fulfilled her two greatest ambitions: to have a grandchild that is a Western medical doctor, and never to suffer the indignity of consulting one herself. Actually, she has two doctor grandchildren. But most of the time, I don’t count. (“Real doctors heal the living,” she likes to say.) Nonetheless, she takes enough pride in my degree that she corrected Dr. Soh’s receptionist, Joyce, when the latter called me “Mr. Lau.” I know some doctors who grow so infuriated at being called “mister” that you’d think it was their sleeper agent trigger word. But I’m not
