Skip to main content

You Can't Put a Price on Life-But Mylan Did



When our 20 year-old television started cutting off tops of heads, my husband and I decided to purchase a flat screen. We didn't need a lot of reasons to make this investment. The culminating factor was when  my 11 yr. old had to start wearing his glasses specifically to see the Netflix descriptions because they were too small-OMG tragedy!  Sure, it was an expense, and yes, we researched it for weeks, poring over Sunday circulars and stalking Amazon until we found the right size at the right price. Press the button-CLICK-and a new TV comes to our door through Prime magic. TADA! Now, could we have waited a while longer? SURE. Did we HAVE to get a new one? NO. Could we have survived? ABSOLUTELY!

The television is a luxury, a frivolous source of entertainment. If it's on the fritz or it cuts off tops of heads or the news crawler at the bottom of a newscast, I can pretty much live, or find another gadget like my phone or Ipad. On second thought, it's probably better that I can't read the news at the bottom of the screen. The point is, it's an OPTION and I won't die if I had to live with the status quo. Moreover, I had thousands to choose from. Admittedly a little overwhelming.

Not so much with an Epi-Pen purchase.  It's not an option. It's not something my kids can live without. I can't run to Amazon and price compare. There's one choice. LIFE. They say you can't put a price on life, but evidently you can, to the tune of $600.

The Mylan Epi-Pen scandal has been an unfolding  news story these past few weeks and while I have remained relatively  quiet on the subject, (which is unusual for me) it has been bubbling up within. Both my children have severe food allergies. We live with the reality everyday. The Epi-Pen is an appendage, It's basically attached to us even if it's a non-food related activity. That's our life. An asthmatic wouldn't be without an inhaler; a diabetic needs their insulin. These are the things that help keep us alive, so we take it pretty seriously, even though much of the population thinks that food allergy folks are over dramatic sensationalists.

The fact that a company can gouge it's customers who basically have no choice, is not only reprehensible but a complete violation to human beings on this planet. I'm not naive. I know the world can sometimes be a nasty place, however, this isn't the first time a company's greed reached a pinnacle where the Senate woke up and decided to launch an investigation. HO HUM. Like that hasn't happened before. Then what? In the meantime, while they're scrambling and acting self-righteous, we (the allergy community) are still stuck in the trenches shelling out thousands of dollars (because one needs more than one Epi-Pen) to keep our children alive. My wish is that this issue will have an expedient resolve before a tragedy unfolds because you can't put a price on life, even though Mylan did.










Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

This Ain't No Cake of Affliction

As promised here is the first of some of my most treasured allergy free recipes for Passover.  I hope you enjoy them and use them as part of your tradition for a happy and safe holiday. Chocolate Cake (adapted from Nava Atlas’s Chocolate Cake recipe) This cake is so good, it’s a shame I only make it on Passover. It’s very fudgy and rich, and trust me you can’t eat too much of it at once and yet, the whole thing disappears in minutes. Try it for yourself. It’s super easy and it's egg, nut, dairy and can be made gluten free with gluten free cake meal. This picture is two cakes stacked with raspberry jam in the middle and a ganache topping-it makes a great birthday cake if your birthday lands on Passover. Ingredients-for one cake 5/8 cup cake meal (1/2 cup + 1/8) ¼ cup+ 1 ½ tbsp. Potato starch 3 TBSP cocoa powder 1 tsp. baking soda 1 tsp. baking powder (you can use the Kosher for Passover one) ½ tsp. salt ¼ cup oil 1 TBSP apple cider vinegar 1 tsp. v...
1 comment
Read more

TREE-ting the Problem-Doing the Right Thing is Never Easy

Apparently, a purple plum tree only has a life expectancy of 20 years or so.   I never realized that some trees have life expectancies, like humans. Unlike us, I always assumed that trees would live forever.   I mean, isn’t that the point of planting a tree anyway?   So that after we are long gone, the tree is still there like a pillar of strength continuing to emit life to all those who look at it? The tree that has been loyally standing in front of our house for 22 years (we have lived here for 14 years) only slightly defied these statistics, though, the ominous crack down the middle and the straggly blooms fearfully indicated that its demise was imminent.   After all, I didn’t want it to come crashing down on the house, or, more importantly, on one of the kids playing in the driveway.   No, the practical side of me prevailed on the side of safety, the emotional side…well, that was a completely different ballgame.   In the end, I decided it was for th...
5 comments
Read more

You Won't "Mousse" The Eggs in This Carrot Mousse

Here is Passover recipe #2.  It can also be made for Easter because Jews don’t have the monopoly on carrots! This dish is so light it should be called carrot flan, but mousse made a better pun. It has a creamy texture and should probably be labeled as dessert, but it’s a great side dish.  This recipe underwent many changes over the years to meet certain dietary limitations and I wanted to clean it up a little. It is egg, nut, dairy and gluten free (if you use gluten free cake meal) and truly so easy.   During the year for other holidays, I use tofu in lieu of eggs, and it provides an even airier consistency, but many of us don’t eat soy on Passover so I went back to the kitchen.   I also replaced the margarine, in order to make it low sodium for my FIL-nobody even knew! So now it’s egg, nut, dairy, AND low sodium-but it still tastes great. Let me know your thoughts.  The picture is courtesy of the Washington Post when it was featured in the pape...
Post a Comment
Read more