Chicago Walmart pharmacist brings life-saving meds to high-risk seniors during pandemic

CHICAGO (WLS) -- With the pandemic putting many seniors at high risk, sometimes it's tough for them to get the things they need, when they need them. One man is putting in extra effort to make life easier, and show he is America Strong.

"Every time he pulls up it's like, he didn't have to do this. He didn't have to do this," said Cherita Dagen-Medlin.

As a mother and nurse for more than 30 years, she knows she knows strength and compassion when she sees it. That's why an act of kindness by her neighborhood pharmacist has touched her so deeply.

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"Most of my patients are scared to come out because of the pandemic, and in general, most just don't have a way to get here," said Manny Yemoh.

Yemoh manages the pharmacy at the Walmart on North Long Avenue. One day, he noticed Dagen-Medlin wasn't getting her life-saving medicine on time. He knew that she was using oxygen to help her breathe, so he took matters into his own hands.

"I've seen her over the years and I see how far she's going. So when she needed me, I had no choice, just do it for her," he said.

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Yemoh hand delivered the medication to her front door. The act of kindness still brings Dagen-Medlin to tears.

"To meet someone like that, it's extraordinary, it doesn't happen every day," said Dagen-Medlin. "But in anyone's life, when it does, you should appreciate it."

Yemoh drops the medication off after work or on his lunch break, proving that "I create moments of care" isn't just a badge he wears, it's reality.

"That's how I want someone to treat my parents," Yemoh said. "When they go somewhere to get medication, I want them to be treated like they belong."

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"I wanted to say thank you, thank you, thank you," Dagen-Medlin said with tears in her eyes.

Turns out Dagen-Medlin isn't the only patient Yemoh hand delivers medications to when delivery companies drop the ball. Yemoh said he's happy to help and if any of his patients need something, he's just a call away.