Chicago born singer and actor Mandy Patinkin, who currently plays the role of Saul Berenson on the tv show Homeland was recently interviewed by Chicago/Splash Magazine (Chicago Sun Times).
Commenting on what he’s learned in his 60 or so years of life, Mandy said life gives us all challenges, but the relationships we build and nurture in the process is what life is all about. He said…..
If you’re able to feel connected, to listen to who you are with, to be present, be in the moment, you’re alive. And that’s all we want to feel. We want to feel we’re not wasting one second of this precious life. And we all waste it all the time, and the goal is, how do we waste it less? The key is to listen, attend to others, attend to yourself, but pay attention and stay connected. If we can do that, I think we have a real chance.”
And…….
The following is a Letter To the Editor of the New York Times submitted by Dr. Robbins, making the case for the new painkiller Zohydro. The paper did not publish it.
While overuse and abuse of pain medications is very real, severe chronic pain is a larger problem. For a chronic pain sufferer, we utilize all of the non-pharmacological treatments, as well as the non-addiction medications. For millions of patients, these measures are not sufficient. For some, opioids are the only treatment that affords them any quality of life. The drug mentioned in this article/editorial, Zohydro, is a long-acting form of hydrocodone, without the acetaminophen. This will save many patients from kidney failure, as the acetaminophen is toxic to the kidneys. By providing relief for more hours than the current preparations, Zohydro will actually decrease the rate of addiction.