Veteran’s suicide draws attention to Veterans Affairs’ use of painkillers
From the article:
BLAND — Nearly everything that Kevin Keller did in his final years bore the mark of constant pain, even the note he left in the end.
His right arm rendered useless by a crippling stroke, Keller used an unsteady left hand to scrawl a brief letter to his best friend.
“MARTY,” it read. “SORRY I BROKE INTO YOUR HOUSE AND TOOK YOUR GUN TO END THE PAIN! FU VA!!! CAN’T TAKE IT ANYMORE”
By the time Marty Austin found the note in his Bland home late on the night of July 25, Keller had already driven to a Veterans Affairs outpatient clinic in nearby Wytheville, where the U.S. Navy veteran was a patient. Keller parked his red pickup truck at a pharmacy next door, walked to the front of the closed medical office, pounded on the locked doors in a final act of frustration and then used Austin’s 9 mm handgun to shoot himself in the head.
VA officials declined to talk about Keller’s case, but Austin and two other friends of the 52-year-old said he had spoken to them many times about the suffering he endured after doctors and nurses at the VA clinic in Wytheville began to wean him off painkillers.
“The medications were the only thing that was helping him, and when they took that away from him, his life just went downhill,” Austin said.
This is just one very sad story that got into the media… why don’t we hear about all the others ?
Filed under: General Problems
That’s what I’m talking about Mr.Steve! Keep em coming!
Thank you!
As with so many things, I hated to hit ‘like’ to this story. Thanks Steve for sharing this important story. I have further shared it in my network. We need to continue to get the word out how Veterans suffer so much at the hands of the VA. So sad this man, and it brings a bit closer to home since he was the same age as me.
Peace & Love
The truth is that there are a lot of people that are in severe chronic pain and the only thing that makes their life bearable is pain meds. The current trend to limit and reduce pain meds to these patients is going to lead to a lot more suffering and a lot more suicides.
A very accurate and unfortunate truth. It just happened to me.
As I was speaking to my husband, trying to explain through the pain & embarrassment of my obvious ‘weakness’ thru wrongfully FORCED withdrawls.
“The only way I can even begin to explain is that I went for many years without insurance or money for proper healthcare. I suffered through 50-70 hour work weeks running like mad.
But once I got care..and a diagnosis and was on regularly managed care.. it’s like I got spoiled by knowing that I didn’t have to hurt so severely all the time and I’d do almost anything to have that back. It’s a hell of a harsh and immediate reminder being forced to feel your pain full time, relentlessly again.”