Bret Williams isn't used to being on the business end of a stethoscope. The 52-year-old doctor's
place was on the other side, listening to the heartbeats of the rural North Carolinians who were
once his patients.
Not any more, not since he learned last year that he has a crippling disease himself: malignant
mesothelioma caused by asbestos exposure from childhood, summer jobs and home repairs. |