Kojiro Tokutake wanted to be a doctor since he was a teenager. His grandmother bought him his first stethoscope when he was in medical school. A decade later, he helped her die.
Tokutake, 33, is a gastroenterologist and, in that role, has inserted permanent feeding tubes in elderly patients, many with dementia, two to three times a week.
"It was just a job," said Tokutake, who could complete the procedure in 10 minutes. "My colleagues and I talked about who could do it the fastest when we were still getting trained."
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.