A SUDDEN DEATH OF A GOOD YOUNG DOCTOR :(

Loh Chee Kongcheekong@mediacorp.com.sg

THE room on the third floor at Singapore Casket was filled with doctors � people who know better than anyone that death is part and parcel of life, and that it can strike anyone, even the seemingly healthy, in their sleep..But that knowledge didn't make it any easier for these doctors to accept the death of Dr Toh Wei Keong � their 32-year-old friend and colleague, who on Friday became the fourth person in a month here to die in his sleep..The general practitioner was also the second doctor among the four. The first was Dr Christopher Lim, 35, who died from an apparent seizure in his sleep barely a month ago..Said Dr Hoe Wan Sin, Dr Toh's former classmate and wife of his closest friend in medical school: "The fact that we are all doctors makes this even harder to take. We have so much technical knowledge, yet we can't explain it. I tried to share whatever I know with (Dr Toh's) wife but ... I don't think it makes a difference.".Dr Hoe, who works at Tan Tock Seng Hospital, had rushed down to the hospital morgue with her husband upon hearing the news. "The last thing you would expect is to find your friend in a drawer in the mortuary where you are working," she said..A preliminary post-mortem gave Dr Toh's cause of death to be "cardio-respiratory failure, pending further investigations"..The full autopsy results will be out in a month, but Dr Toh's wife, Madam Tiina Ong, is not expecting any closure even then as the memory of her trying to wake him up keeps playing in her mind.."His body was still warm although his hands and feet were cold. He wasn't breathing and I tried to shake him a bit ... It was just like he was sleeping. But he wouldn't wake up," she said..Dr Toh was pronounced dead at the hospital about an hour later, after doctors failed to resuscitate him..Mdm Ong, 32, who is in the advertising and marketing line, got to know her late husband when they were both students at the National University of Singapore. The couple's sixth wedding anniversary would have been this Friday and they were planning to start a family next year.."I try not to cry ... But I still can't accept it happened," she told Today.."The memory of me trying frantically to wake him up is still so vivid.".Her husband would work 15-hour days at the Sengkang clinic he set up two years ago, although recently his days had become busier after he started a second clinic..But he was a fit and healthy young man, said Mdm Ong. "He was very particular about his diet. He used to exercise regularly but had not been doing so of late due to work. There were no signs at all this would happen.".Dr Hoe's husband Dr Khoo Chong Kiat, a registrar at KK Women's and Children's Hospital's Obstetrics and Gynaecology Division who had spent his army and university days together with Dr Toh, typed out a two-page letter paying tribute to his "great friend" that he distributed at the wake..Recalling how he "broke down like mad" at the mortuary, Dr Khoo wrote: "Someone once told me he was such a likeable doctor that patients, after spending five minutes with him, would definitely go back to him for the next visit. He was also very kind by nature and often gave a discount for old folks who could not pay up in full.".Indeed, some of those at the wake yesterday were his patients..One of them, financial adviser Kelvin Ng, said: "He was very approachable and he really listened. He was our family doctor. My kids really liked him.".Mr Ng added that Dr Toh would call them up to check on his children's condition whenever they were ill..According to the National Heart Centre, between 2001 and 2003, about 300 people aged between 18 and 60 died suddenly each year. Most deaths were caused by cardiovascular conditions. Three per cent had no known cause..Besides the two doctors, a 16-year-old student and a 25-year-old store manager also died in their sleep on Oct 24 and Nov 13 respectively.
For those who khow: special lot--------------------
What is this? Spiritual or actual physical problem?
nayr69sg
12:15
To:
leetahsar
16 of 20

124640.16 in reply to 124640.14
Hi people, Dr Toh was my classmate and good friend.
Take it from me. He was a good man. He always cared for people and did his best to help anyone he could.
We lost a good doctor, loving husband and a good man.
May he rest in peace.

leetahsar
12:21
To:
nayr69sg
18 of 20

124640.18 in reply to 124640.16
yes i know....and everyone love him and his wife to be happy and keep helping the sick especially the poor.....but sometime, it's like that....bad person dies....good person also dies....
dun blame GOD. we never know why it has to be like that....he's a fair GOD.
the bad dies; the good also must die. that's why i think this is what is meant by 'fair' tpo GOD...i dun understand too...a bit angry...but still that's the way things are....a way to test the faithful who might be adversely affected by this sudden death of a good man.........;9(
so our deepest condolence to his family....peace with u all...ornitoufo.....;9(

GOD'S WAY IS NOT FOR US TO QUESTION, brother....
maybe the good doctor need an eternal rest ....maybe he already accomplished much already and GOD wants him back to rest eternally in His Kingdom...
no matter what....the sad sudden unexpected death had occurred.
the living must learn to be strong cos i believe in death the good doctor would surely wants those he loved to be happy, be stronger and carry on their lives to doing more good....
he shall henceforth be living eternally with them within their hearts to the days end....
isn't this beautiful too?
ornitofu...peace to all.....;9)