The Two Doctors

There was an old woman who worried terribly about her son. She always wondered if he was safe and her mind conjured up constant doubt about his wellbeing. Sometimes if he didn’t answer the phone or was late to a visit, she would be sent into a frenzy of anxiety and thoughts that he either died or was hospitalized. Eventually she went to the two doctors and explained her situation.

“I hear you loud and clear.” Said the first doctor. He continued, “I know what will help you.” He proposed the idea of a pulse monitoring device that would be activated so long as her son had a heart beat.

“This way,” explained the doctor, “you’ll be able to see when his heart is beating. You won’t have to worry then.”

The second doctor began to speak. “This device doesn’t help treat the worr-,” but she was cut off as the old woman spoke.

“This will do just fine. I’ll take it. Thanks, doctor.”

A few weeks later the old woman returned to the two doctors with tears streaming down her face, covered in sweat, and so out of breath she could barely speak.

“I’m so worried about my son. Where is he?” She managed to gasp. “The watch is not lit up.”

The first doctor who recommended the device politely checked over the apparatus. “Ah, it was just the batteries. Here you go.” He said as he handed it back to her. “I’ll have another one made and it’ll have a much longer battery life. You won’t have to worry then.”

The second doctor spoke up. “Ma’am, I’d strongly recommend we try-” But she was cut off once again as the old woman replied to the first doctor.

“Thanks again, doctor. You always know how to help.”

And just as the first doctor had said, in several days the old woman received a new heart monitoring device with a 30-year-battery.

A few weeks went by and then the woman visited the two doctors again. She said, “I’m so worried about my son. I can’t sleep. I know this device stays lit so long as my son’s heart is beating, but I can’t shake the fear that he’s still alive but badly hurt with no one to save him. Maybe been in a car accident or was beat up and left in a ditch somewhere.

The first doctor replied immediately. “I hear your concerns. I totally understand.” He continued. “We’ll upgrade the device to include a dot that’ll function as a highly-accurate GPS location tracker. That way as long as you see him moving, you’ll know he’s safe enough to be mobile. You shouldn’t have to worry then.”

The old woman thought for a moment as the second doctor spoke. “This isn’t an effective plan. We should instead tr-”

“No, this will do.” Replied the old woman. “Thanks, doctor. You know best.” And once more she was on her way.

About a month later the old woman came back again the two doctors. “I’m so worried about my son.” She began. “Although I know he’s still alive and I can see his location, I get so worried when he’s not moving. I fear for his safety and I always have to call him only to find out he’s standing in line, or waiting at a red light, or sitting on the couch. But I’m still so worried.” She pleaded, “Is there any way we can update the device to help?”

“With all due respect,” began the second doctor, happy to get the first word in, “this has gone too far and we need to stop. None of these solutions are actually helping you. They’re just managing your symptoms rather than addressing the deeper problem that needs to be solved. Rather than managing your worry, let’s find a solution that eliminates the cause of your worry.”

The old woman stared blankly at the second doctor and then looked at the first doctor.

He said, “We’ll install a camera so that your device will offer constant video surveillance of your son. You won’t have to worry then.”

The old woman smiled. “I’ll take it. You know best, doc.”