As you all know, my cousin Sean has been in intensive care over the last 10 days struggling after suffering a tear in his aorta. Fortunately -- very fortunately, actually, as many people do not survive this event -- Sean's doing really well. He's now awake, breathing on his own without a respirator, complaining of being hungry and thirsty, sitting up and even making the occasional joke.
All of Sean's family and friends are thrilled at his success so far. But we've been surprised and delighted to learn additional good news, and I wanted to share it with you.
Sean's employer, Elephant Pharm, has been incredibly generous. Sean's co-employees have pooled paid sick leave to donate for his use, and the CEO of the company adde extra paid sick leave so that Sean will have 52 weeks of paid sick leave as he recovers from this. Elephant Pharm is a new-concept pharmacy in California which offers alternative and homeopathic products as well as traditional pharmacy, beauty and health products. So far, Elephant Pharm has retail stores in Berkeley, San Raphael, and Los Altos (all in Northern California). If you're near any of them, please go shop there!
Sean's wife Sherri works for See's Candy, a well-loved western U.S. candy store chain that makes THE most delicious chocolates. See's has also been extremely generous in giving a significant amount of paid leave to Sherri so she can be with Sean through his recuperation. (I know that the staff at the hospital is already well supplied with a wide assortment of See's candy for their nibbling enjoyment!) Not that you need an additional reason to eat chocolate, but doesn't knowing how wonderful See's is being to Sherri make you want to rush out and buy chocolate from them in support? (You can order See's online here.)
As you can imagine, the generosity of these two companies is relieving a big stress for Sean's family as we all look ahead to a long period of recovery. In this era where we hear so many stories of cold-hearted, business-first-at-all-cost corporations, it's really encouraging to learn of companies who treat their employees with kindness and compassion and true generosity.
If you're able to shop at an Elephant Pharm or See's, please do so and know that your dollars are going to the good guys.
That is so wonderful!! I am putting both companies on my favorites list. It is really heartwarming to hear of companies that do this. They must be run by good people and hopefully they will get as many blessings back as they've given!!! Take care and have a great day!!
ReplyDeletedawn
That is incredible, but it's really good to hear that there are still people (and businesses) like that around. Great news about your cousin, so glad things have turned out well.
ReplyDeleteSuch good news about your cousin and his wife.
ReplyDeleteI will make a big effort to buy more See's Candy. Imagine eating candy for a good cause!
What a great story. I didn't need any more excuses to buy See's candy which I can find in several locations in Portland. So happy to hear that Sean is recuperating.
ReplyDeleteOH! I spotted the Los Altos Elephant Pharm yesterday...I'm excited to support "worthy" companies! (Equally motivated to avoid the unworthy!)
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