This Newtown Square, Pa., couple received a much needed pick-me-up just in time for the holiday season.
Elisa and Frank Costantini, originally from Italy, have been married 55 years, according to WTXF-TV. Unfortunately, this year has been the worst one yet for the couple.
Frank Constantini, who recently turned 76, has been battling Stage 4 gastric cancer. He's also been having problems trying to get his insurance to cover medical costs.
On Nov. 27, the couple went to a Rite Aid in Broomall, Pa., to fill his prescription but were told instead that they would have to pay out-of-pocket for the daily pain medication.
"She was so upset and with very good reason," Kevin Leszega, a Rite Aid pharmacist, told WTXF-TV. "I felt absolutely horrible."
Leszega and Elisa Constantini tried to work out a way to get enough pills to last through the holidays, but the pharmacist felt so bad for the couple, that he ended up paying for the medication.
"I figured that would cheer them up and give them something to talk about," Leszega said.
"I went to get money, and he got his own credit card, swiped and paid for everything," Elisa Constantini said. "When you're so down and you have something like that to bring you back up, just like that, it was just a beautiful thing he did."
Last November, a similar act of kindness occurred when Drew Lewis, who was diagnosed with Stage 4 colon cancer, took to the Internet after his insurance company wouldn't pay for his $40,000 procedure. Lewis received an outpour of help from generous Facebook users. He ended up raising enough money to have the procedure, and he's now tumor-free.
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