Posted on January 28, 2010
Dr. Howard A. Kelly, the subject of the previous post, is incidentally the star of a true story that has been recounted so often it has taken on a highly embellished life of its own.
While a very young man, Kelly was hiking around in rural Pennsylvania when he stopped at a house to ask for a glass of water. Thinking he looked hungry, the young woman who answered the door gave him a glass of milk instead.
Fast forward many years. The woman went to a hospital in the city to seek help with a serious gynecological condition. The great Dr. Kelly, as he now was, treated her successfully.
When it came time for the bill, the woman discovered that the invoice read, "Paid in full with one glass of milk."
Like many top doctors of his day, Dr. Kelly, who lived from 1858 to 1943, charged enormous fees. However, Audrey Davis, a friend and biographer, wrote that he often treated people for free. (Remember, people didn't have health insurance in those days.) For every patient Dr. Kelly charged for his services, he treated three for free, Davis reported.
So Dr. Kelly's generosity to the woman who had shown a young man a kindness was an everyday thing for him.
Still, it's a great story.