An Ounce of Cure

When James Wheatley visits the doctor about a troublesome little toe, he expects a simple examination and perhaps a prescription. Instead, his ten-year absence from regular checkups alarms the physician, who begins imagining a host of hidden ailments—from heart trouble to digestive disorders—and sends him into the maze of modern medical diagnosis.

At the clinic, Wheatley encounters specialists who speak in baffling jargon, study X-rays unrelated to his complaint, and treat every symptom as evidence of something more serious. His attempts to explain the original problem are repeatedly brushed aside as the experts pursue their own narrow fields. Wry, fast-moving, and sharply observant, this entertaining story turns an ordinary appointment into a comic critique of over-specialization, medical anxiety, and an industry that may be more interested in finding disease than in listening to the patient.