Don't mess with Arijit!

I read a recent article in the Huffington Post about an Arizona State University  graduate student, Arijit Guha, who has colon cancer and was dropped from his medical coverage by Aetna Insurance Company because of the limit they had on his premium . . . as in not going over a certain amount. He was taking chemotherapy and had reached the policy's $300,000 lifetime limit for coverage. Having no place to turn, Guha started "Poop Strong.org'" where he sold bracelets, t-shirts and all sorts of clever items. He raised $20,000 in three days, but he knew it would never be sufficient to cover all his bills. So he turned to something else.

He began a Twitter conversation with the CEO of Aetna, Mark Bertolini. This went back and forth, becoming very public and probably totally pissing off everyone at Aetna. Finally, Bertolini gave in and agreed to cover all of Guha's medical costs through the end of the plan year. I'm not sure if that means he will cover him forever or until the end of the year. There will be no problem as this will all be taken care of under President Obama's Affordable Care Act which takes effect in 2014. That is, of course, unless the republicans muster up enough support against it which we all know they are trying like hell to do! Republicans are against anything that helps people, especially women and men . . . but I guess that's just about everyone.

I'm wondering if Bertolini has anything to do with olive oil. I buy Bertolli olive oil sometimes. If he is connected, that could make him slippery and hard to deal with. Guha should watch out.

I liked the Poop Strong web site and the whole idea. I'm wondering if I could do something like that. I don't have the resources to stockpile t-shirts and I can't make bracelets or anything, for that matter, but possibly I could offer my services and my home as a shelter for box turtles while they are waiting for adoption. I raised two box turtles and they even produced an egg while in my care. So I have good credentials except for the fact that one was run over and the other hibernated in the winter and, I think, dug his way to China. But it's a thought.

I really admire Guha for what he accomplished. It must have been extraordinarily hard for him to do what he has done on top of having cancer. I wish the best for him and hope things go well in the future.