What a shame
This is just sickening to me. Take a moment and read http://www.military.com/news/article/accidental-overdose-killed-afghan-vet.html and let me know how you think in the comments of this blog entry. I am not sure who’s fault it is, but what I do know is this young man was in Afghanistan the same time I was and I cannot imagine having one of my soldiers go through what he did and then come back to the States and try to pursue a well deserved life as a civilian only to die as a result of his medication.
I am interested to know who prescribed this known high-risk medication to this young man and why its history was not heeded. I cannot pass a lot of judgment on this case as I do not know all the details and it would be wrong of me to accuse anyone of anything without knowing the facts. I just hope that the death of Christopher Smith will not be in vain and that any other vets who are suffering from injuries will be made aware of the risk of fentanyl or any other high-risk drugs that are being prescribed.
Rest in peace Christopher, rest in peace.
Claire
December 2nd, 2008 at 12:08 pmJust from the quick search I did I read in a few articles that this medication was designed specifically for breakthrough cancer pain and should not be used in patients with past head trauma — I am assuming because some brain trauma can affect how well someone regulates their breathing.
When my mother had some of her lung removed last year they had her hopped up on a very powerful dose of morphine. While she was on the morphine she stopped breathing. The doctor said that is not uncommon for strong opiate drugs — it can cause a patient to just stop breathing.
Neck, back and brain injuries are uncommon for our Veterans. Our Vets deserve the very best. There needs to be some advanced and safe protocols in place to treat this particular combination of diagnoses.