The Generous Gift of a Glass of Milk that Ended up Paying for Medical Care -Truth!

This story has been circulating on social medias for quite some time now. Still beautiful. It should tell us that there is no reason to hold back kindness untill you think you can offer real help; preferably big time!  As is often the case, someone has fictionalized the details of this story and gotten some of it wrong, but it is essentially a true event.

A real example of the story as it has been circulated: One day, a poor boy who was selling goods from door to door to pay his way through school, found he had only one thin dime left, and he was hungry. He decided he would ask for a meal at the next house. However, he lost his nerve when a lovely young woman opened the door. Instead of a meal he asked for a drink of water. She thought he looked hungry so brought him a large glass of milk. He drank it slowly, and then asked, "How much do I owe you?" "You don't owe me anything," she replied. "Mother has taught us never to accept pay for a kindness." He said..... "Then I thank you from my heart." As Howard Kelly left that house, he not only felt stronger physically, but his faith in God and man was strong also. He had been ready to give up and quit. Year's later that young woman became critically ill. The local doctors were baffled. They finally sent her to the big city, where they called in specialists to study her rare disease. Dr. Howard Kelly ! was called in for the consultation. When he heard the name of the town she came from, a strange light filled his eyes. Immediately he rose and went down the hall of the hospital to room. Dressed in his doctor's gown he went in to see her. He recognized her at once. He went back to the consultation room determined to do his best to save her life. From that day he gave special attention to the case. After a long struggle, the battle was won. Dr. Kelly requested the business office to pass the final bill to him for approval. He looked at it, then wrote something on the edge and the bill was sent to her room. She feared to open it, for she was sure it would take the rest of her life to pay for it all. Finally she looked, and something caught her attention on the side of the bill. She read these words..... "Paid in full with one glass of milk" Signed Dr. Howard Kelly. Tears of joy flooded her eyes as her happy heart prayed: "Thank You, God, that Your love has spread abroad through human hearts and hands."

The Truth:   Dr. Howard Kelly was a distinguished physician who, in 1895, founded the Johns Hopkins Division of Gynecologic Oncology at Johns Hopkins University.  According to Dr. Kelly's biographer, Audrey Davis, the doctor was on a walking trip through Northern Pennsylvania one spring day when he stopped by a farm house for a drink of water.  A little girl answered his knock at the door and instead of water, brought him a glass of fresh milk.  He visited with her briefly, then went his way.   Sometime after that, the little girl came to him as a patient and needed surgery.  After the surgery, the bill was brought to her room and on it were the words, "Paid in full with one glass of milk." www.Truthorfiction.com  thanks Andrew Harrison, the Processing Archivist and Fine Arts Coordinator for the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, for help with this story.  Posted 7/6/07 http://www.truthorfiction.com/rumors/o/oneglassofmilk.htm#.Uys0bvl5NLA

Dodging a good advice

It is such a strange, and yet liberating, feeling when you are alone in a room and you read something which just makes you roar with laughter. Like a manifestation of your inner craziness. Just now I read a status on Facebook which brought back memories of a rather dramatic situation, but which now, in the aftermath, is hysterically funny.

A wonderful friend of mine was listening to the radio where a famous, Norwegian stylist recommended using hemorrhoids cream to cure baggy eyes.

There were no instructions given on how to use it, how long or how often he recommended using it. It was just a remark, really, on how to get rid of those unwelcome signs of late nights spent in marvellous decadence.

She posted this status on Facebook:

Dear, dear Jan Thomas. Since I post this in public I reckon you will read it. You once recommended using hemorrhoids cream to reduce bags under my eyes. You seemingly forgot to tell how much to apply. So I applied a really heavy layer before I went to bed (I had gone through one of those tearful days of crying and the bags under my eyes were really conspicuous). Well, I woke up the next morning (the bags were smaller, I give you that) but in return I looked as if I had been given a serious direct hit on both eyes. Two solid black eyes glared back at me when I looked in the mirror. And I looked like that for two full weeks. Do feel free to send me “user’s manual”

Love “me”.

I remember the incident very well, and it is true she looked severely beaten up. She didn't leave the
house for two weeks, and wore sunglasses on rainy days… and we all know who does that! Women having occurrences with butt lotions are not quite what springs to mind…

Looking back we all, she included, agree she could have tried out a few less extreme home remedies before going for the ultimate panacea, but in all fairness it WAS a remedy uttered by a highly respected expert on looks, beauty and style.

Well, hemorrhoids cream on the thin and sensitive skin under your eyes was maybe not the best advice to go public with. Not when impulsive women like my friend follow them, in their own manner (and I'm sure my friend is not the only one.... then again: she is one of a kind). Conducted with great care and prudence I am sure it can save the day after, in an (social) emergency.

I can’t help but mentioning that this particular stylist have had another beauty-advice-fail:

There was a stunt on the radio: celebrities were invited to a week’s work placement. Jan Thomas thought it was fair that since he was working as a radio host for a week, the radio host, Michael Andreassen, should get a glimpse of his world of beauty, looks and style. So, Michael agreed to get some Botox and Restylane done. It wouldn’t be a problem to try it out, he thought, so he went to the clinic and asked for “the works”.

As it turned out this was not a very smart thing to do: He was given a total of between 70 and 90 injections in the face, which gradually began to itch and swell. Then came the fever and he ended up being hospitalized; getting liquid antibiotics several times a day.

He had no wrinkles after the treatment, he had to give Jan Thomas that, but his entire forehead was motionless. Not even a hint of frowning, when he really tried.

At a talk show Jan Thomas told that he had never experienced anything like that using Botox himself, but admitted that smaller touch ups sometimes had given unexpected consequences. He’d gotten a black eye, but that's all.

Being famous and an expert can be dangerous, because regardless of what you say people will listen. And since we are human (and I admit this might be a characteristic property belonging to one of the genders) we may say we listen, but we only hear what we want to hear; short-listing and selecting which words we hear, and which ones we choose not to recognize. And we comprehend what is said the way we want to… and sometimes we end up following our own version of what was a good advice to begin with.

Now, I have read and listened to every word he said about this, and hence his propensity to give (semi-) good advice and these above mentioned incidents, I have to say that when Jan Thomas says that exercise and a healthy lifestyle is the best option to obtain a healthy, good looking body, like his own...,

I wonder if I should follow his advice and make an effort or if I should dodge working out and keeping a healthy diet all together…?