Empathy

I saw a patient today who kept making odd comments in response to my questions.  His wife ended up answering for him most of the time.  I assumed that he was just deaf, but as we left the room he said, "Goodnight!" in a cheery voice.  It was 10.30 in the morning.

So I said to the GP who was there, "Does he have a bit of dementia?"

"Oh yes", said the GP, "He's as nutty as a fruitcake".