On Feb. 26 at 1 a.m., my 13year-old son woke me up and told me he had a pain in his stomach. I told him it was probably a gas bubble and to go back to sleep.

At 1:20 a.m., he woke me again and demanded I take him to the emergency room because he said he had checked the Internet for his symptoms and was sure he had an appendicitis.

I reluctantly woke my husband and dressed for the emergency room. He told the intake clerk at Los Robles that he had a pain in his "right lower quadrant" and that it was an appendicitis. The clerk snickered and finished the necessary paperwork.

We waited in the E.R. for two hours while they did a CAT scan and blood work. Then, to our surprise, the doctor walked in and said, "Son, you have an appendicitis."

He was wheeled into surgery that day, and the appendix was removed. By the time we left the hospital on Feb. 27, most of the staff knew about his story.

Upon checkout, they said, "If you have any pain or unusual symptoms, tell your mom. Better yet, diagnose it yourself and tell us about the results." Mary Orleans Thousand Oaks