Pharmacist Helps Cancer Patient Struggling To Pay For Expensive Medication
BROCKTON (CBS) – A Brockton pharmacist with a big heart proved that kindness can be the cure when a customer needed medication that her insurance wouldn't pay for.
Jaimee Occhipinti is battling stage four colon cancer. While the 25-year-old is almost always in pain, it's her nerve medicine that helps her get through the day.
"It's the only thing that helps me. I've been in and out of the hospital for weeks," said Occhipinti.
That medicine is expensive and when she couldn't afford to pay the $80 on Sunday, the pharmacist at Walgreens felt compelled to help.
"She just called me and said, 'I know what you're going through and I want to help you. Come back to Walgreens and we'll take care of it,'" Occhipinti explained.
Occhipinti says she was moved to tears.
"I broke down. I didn't know what else to do. It was cries of happiness because I've been in so much pain and somebody wants to help," Occhipinti said.
Her boyfriend wanted to capture the moment with a couple photos that he shared to Facebook. The couple said the response has been overwhelming.
"All these wonderful, great comments of prayers and 'Stay Strong, Jaimee.' I wasn't expecting that," said Thomas Scopa.
The heartwarming post gained more than 1,200 likes and dozens of shares. Some who saw the post quickly identified the pharmacist as Natarsha Terry of Brockton.
The couple told WBZ-TV that Terry deserves all the recognition for saving the day.
"I just want to say thank you. It's greatly appreciated," said Occhipinti.