11.15.05

Grace at the Chain Pharmacy

Posted in Uncategorized at 11:08 am by Raymond Fleming

by Raymond Fleming My wife, Gale, was sick. It was one of those weeks when everyone in the family got sick at once. Slowly, we recovered and returned to work and to school and went about our normal routines. Gale’s flu-like symptoms returned, however, after a couple of days. She said to me one morning, “I’m tired of feeling so bad. If I don’t feel better by the end of today, I’ll make an appointment with the doctor.” She couldn’t make it to the end of the day for an appointment. About mid-morning, she drove herself to an urgent care office near where we live. The doctor diagnosed her with pneumonia, prescribed antibiotics and told her to go home and get some rest. On her way home, she stopped at the pharmacy near our home. Gale handed Dean, the pharmacist, her prescription and our insurance card. We don’t get many prescriptions, so the problem with the card wasn’t any surprise. Maybe she gave him the wrong card? She checked her purse and found another more recently issued card. Dean slid that card through the reader. There was still a problem. “Well, I can pay for it,” said Gale. “I’m not feeling well and I need to get home.” “It’s going to be well over a hundred dollars,” said Dean as he handed her a bag containing the bottle of pills and an inhaler. “Come in or give me a call tomorrow,” he said. “Maybe there’s a problem with the Blue Cross computer.” “What about the money?” asked Gale. “I’m not worried about it,” said Dean. “Go home and get some rest.” The next day, an even newer card with a different identification number arrived in the mail. Apparently, the insurance company was rolling out the new cards and we just hadn’t received ours yet. Gale called the next day, gave Dean the new number and we owed only the co-payment on the prescriptions. Who said you don’t get personalized service from a chain pharmacy?

4 Comments »

  1. Dee O'Neil Andrews said,

    November 15, 2005 at 4:34 pm

    Thanks, Ray, for this grace note today. It was encouraging for me to read. Unfortunately, between Tom and me now (mostly me) we probably have to take a total 15 to 20 different prescription pills and capsules a day with additional prescriptions less often and/or as needed. And the way our current insurance plan is set up, we can only get a few of all of those prescriptions for longer than a month at a time. So, I spend a lot of time, and I do mean a LOT (as well as money), calling ahead and going to drugstores here in town (and while on trips) to leave new prescriptions, pick up ones I’ve called in, having to go back to get the rest of what invariably will be at least one partial refill - on and on. It gets really old in a hurry. And I have to say I have never had the grace note experience Gale did that you write about. It is so heartening to hear. Thanks.

  2. PatrickMead said,

    November 15, 2005 at 6:52 pm

    Angels are everywhere, aren’t they? God bless Dean.

  3. Hoots Musings said,

    November 15, 2005 at 11:02 pm

    What a blessing Dean was to you….you made my glum heart smile.

  4. DJG said,

    November 16, 2005 at 7:14 pm

    Good story. God is always at work!

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