Originally Posted by
neilmpenny
Having thought about it a little more the past few days, I do remember that Heath Ledger and a couple of others had shopped around for doctors. The thrust of my argument being that one doctor is prescribing drugs in total ignorance of what another doctor had prescribed previously, creating a cocktail of drugs that the person in particular may not know is lethal if mixed in a certain way.
In respect to pain, I don't know what that is. Sure, I have wrenched a knee, torn a cartilage and broken the odd bone in the hand or dislocated a finger playing football. But if I try to remember it, I only recall that at the time it was painful. I have no real recollection, I guess the brain blocks it out. I do remember reading about actors etc that are in total pain all the time and the abuse of prescription drugs to ease their pain. But I have no reference.
My best friend died five years ago from cancer at 39 years of age. I have spoken about it here before and I am ok with it, I have grieved and whenever his name is mentioned I smile and not become morose. In fact I go on to tell about some of the crazy things we got up to (and they were crazy). When he got to a stage, near the end, when he was confined to a wheelchair, I asked him about it. I told him I read about cancer patients who were in constant pain and asked him to tell me what it is. He said that your nervous system has billions of nerve endings throughout your body, many ending in the dermis. Imagine every one of them on fire, like billions of microscopic needles of acid just under the skin, simmering away. The slightest touch releases the acid and it burns like nothing you have ever felt.
You know, he left hospital in Perth, Western Australia and flew back here to Singapore. They told him there was nothing more they could do for him. He was given industrial quantities of morphine to manage his pain. I believe they gave him extra in case he wanted to O.D. He never did. We gathered around his bed at his house on a Friday evening. All the lads were there, the drinking and golf buddies. We went over it all, all the stories and antics. There were 30+ in that room. Jesus I gave him some stick, I was the partner in crime for a long time. Next lunchtime, he was in bed watching football and started coughing, he coughed so hard until he arrested.