Tonight's picture was taken in March of 2004. Classic Mattie!! He put on Peter's baseball hat and of course never went anywhere without his trusty sippy cup! That cup was always filled with milk...... Mattie's drink of choice! I literally always had a bag attached to me filled with sippy cups and an ice pack.... that was how much milk was appreciated!
Quote of the day: My father used to say, 'You can spend a lot of time making money. The tough time comes when you have to give it away properly.' How to give something back, that’s the tough part in life. ~ Lee Iacocca
Last week, Patrick Terpstra (senior Washington news producer at Cox-owned TV and radio stations) contacted Peter. Patrick had read Peter's statement in the Washington Post (September 8, 2015) and wanted to talk with him further about the controversy before Congress. The issue in question is the FDA's decision to approve opioids like OxyContin for children under 11 years of age.
Congress is evaluating this decision about providing access to children to such addictive pain medications. Certainly the issue is very controversial, since drug addiction to pain medications is very real in our Country, and many parents have lost their children to such prescription medications. We can appreciate that problem and epidemic. But clearly there are two very passionate camps about opioids for children...... those opposed to it and those who see a need for it. A valid need, particularly for children contenting with life threatening illnesses like cancer. In fact, the FDA says..... its recent approval for 11- to 16-year-olds wasn’t intended to expand the use opioids in children but, rather, to give doctors better guidelines about how to use OxyContin safely in pediatric patients. Doctors can already prescribe medications any way they see fit, and many physicians have long given OxyContin and other potent painkillers “off label” to children suffering from cancer, major surgeries or other trauma, the agency said.
Studies evaluating the safety and effectiveness of OxyContin
in pediatric patients have been performed and FDA officials said the results
supported the use of the drug in limited situations — such as when intractable pain couldn’t be treated effectively with less powerful
painkillers. The FDA guidelines are in essence evidence-based medicine for children because they provide physicians with data for pain medication administration.
Peter voices our position on having access to pain
management drugs for children with cancer!!! We believe that access
to pain medications for children with cancer is imperative and is absolutely
crucial for end of life management and care.
Parents of children with cancer trust their doctors'
judgment on what medications are needed to manage symptoms, are aware of cues
from their children regarding reported and observed pain, and know that having
an arsenal of drugs to choose from to assist a child in need is vital. Not
every drug works for every child, and sometimes you have to find the right pain
medications to manage the symptoms humanly. Therefore limiting access to pain
medications to children with cancer is a quality of life issue for the entire
family system. Below you will find the interview as well as the December 2015 article in the Washington Post.
Father Fights to Protect Children From Pain:
http://www.fox23.com/news/video-father-fights-to-protect-children-from-pain_20160307173652/149562276
Why the FDA approved Oxycontin for kids as young as 11:
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