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Dear Ann Landers,
everal days ago I awakened at about 2 a.m. with a headache. I went to the bathroom to get an asprin and fell. I was sure I had broken my shoulder. My hus-band telephoned his young cousin who has just started to prac-tice medicine. He came right over and said he didn't think it was a fracture but advised me to get X rays the next morning. He gave me a sleeping pill. I had the X rays taken and there was no fracture. This morning I received a bill for the X rays ($35) and a bill from my husband's cousin for $15. I don't mind paying for the X rays but that young whippersnapper had a nerve charging me $15 for a sleeping pill. Had we known he was going to send a bill, we would have called our regular family doctor. We just wanted to give the boy a break and help him get some practical experience. Were we wrong?- Tennessee
Dear Tenn,
Just what kind of a break is it for a doctor (young or old) to make a house call at 2 a.m. for nix? Doctors get plenty of practical experience taking care of fathers, mothers, sisters, brothers, nieces, nephews, and grandparents for free-not to mention charity cases and clinic patients. Internship also offers a world of free experience, particularly the odd-hour variety. Pay the bill and do your cousin a favor by not giving him any more breaks in the middle of the night.