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(ISSN #2640-4044)
post.mnsun.com
Thursday, Feb. 28, 2019 • Page 4
Opioids killing
our neighbors
After her fourth major
back surgery and enough
chronic pain to fell an
elephant, it would have
been easy for my wife to
succumb to the preferred
route of treatment: pre-
scription painkillers.
As a nurse she had seen
and helped treat numer-
ous patients who had
been through similar back
surgeries and she also saw
how easy it was to slide
into the trap of mask-
ing pain with a drug. Her
solution was to avoid the
drugs, accept a certain lev-
el of lifelong distress and
exercise her way through
the rest. It has not been
easy, but the alternative
is a possible freefall into a
very dark hole.
Still, it would be nearly
impossible for anyone
coming out of a surgery to
not utilize some form of a
pharmaceutical solution.
The pain is simply too
severe. It’s the weeks and
months after surgery that
become critical for many.
Most can wean themselves
off. But the addictive na-
ture of some drugs can be
overwhelming.
For the past 20 years
our nation has been under
attack by opioids. In Min-
nesota alone, 422 people
died in 2017 as a result of
opioid overdose. That is
approximately a 300 per-
cent increase from 2003
opioid deaths, according
to data from the CDC.
Nationally, the numbers
are staggering. In 2003,
12,940 people died from
opioid overdose. By 2017,
that number had skyrock-
eted to 47,600. The illegally
produced drug heroin has
also become a big killer
because of its availability
and cost. It is often a next
step for addicts when they
get cut off from prescrip-
tion meds. It claimed more
than 15,482 lives in 2017.
In 2003, 2,080 people died
of heroin overdose.
Natural and semisyn-
thetic opioids, such as
oxycodone and hydro-
codone, have long been
a big problem as peo-
ple have struggled with
those prescription pain-
killers. In 2003, 4,867
Keith
Anderson
APG of
ECM
Keith Anderson is the director of
news for APG of East Central
Minnesota. He can be reached at
[e-mail]
Americans died from
overdose on those drugs.
By 2017, the number of
Americans killed by over-
dose from those prescrip-
tion drugs had increased
to 14,495.
The abuse is not restrict-
ed to certain age groups.
In Minnesota, people be-
tween the ages of 25-34
represented 26 percent of
the opioid deaths in 2017.
Those between the ages
of 45-54 accounted for 23
percent, while 35-44 was
20 percent, 55+ were 17
percent and those under
the age of 24 stood at 13.5
percent. This is touching
every demographic of our
society.
Still not convinced this
is a serious issue? How do
you feel about murder?
There were 113 homicides
in Minnesota in 2017. Na-
tionally there were 17,284
reported homicides. As
startling as those numbers
may seem, they repre-
sented about one third the
number of deaths from
opioid overdose in the
same year.
If you’re like many Min-
nesotans, you remember
the day Prince died: April
21, 2016. He brought so
much joy, energy and life
to the world. Most people
were stunned when they
heard of his death. It
seemed like the whole na-
tion paused for a few days.
For months people trav-
eled to Paisley Park as if
on a religious pilgrimage,
tagging purple balloons,
ribbons and posters to a
fence, all hoping to ease
their personal agony. As a
community, we mourned.
His death, ruled an ac-
cidental overdose of the
opioid fentanyl, silenced
Post
BROOKLYN PARK BROOKLYN CENTER
America, your mother does not work here
Back in my working
days, I really enjoyed my
commitments as a full-
time editor and manager.
However, I also inherited
the role of part-time of-
fi ce mom. I will confess
that was not my favorite.
I hated being the nag-
ging voice about offi ce
etiquette, but sometimes
it had to be done.
I was indeed the voice
behind
those
“your
mother doesn’t work
here” notes that showed
up in the offi ce kitchen.
“If you make a mess,
clean it up!”
“If you use a plate,
wash it and put it back in
the cupboard.”
Or in the restrooms:
“Refi ll the toilet paper
when empty. PLEASE!!!!”
On occasion, my notes
got a bit hostile. I remem-
ber once when someone
had reheated spaghetti
and sauce in the micro-
wave. You know what
spaghetti sauce does to
the inside of a micro-
wave? One royal, red,
splotchy mess!
After a stern warning
that I might just pack
up the microwave if it
happens again, the note
would invariably end
with “Your mother does
not work here.”
It’s been a little more
than a year since I’ve writ-
ten a terse note to my co-
workers, but I am starting
to feel compelled to start
them up again, this time
to a much larger group of
laggards.
Retirement
lifestyle
means lots of travel,
See Anderson , Page 5 lunches at dives or high-
Peggy
Bakken
APG of
ECM
Peggy Bakken is a former executive
editor and a columnist for APG-East
Central Minnesota. Reactions wel-
come: [e-mail].
end destinations and
road trips. That means
a lot of bathroom stops
– fast food restaurants,
roadside oases, freeway
rest stops, visitor centers,
information kiosks, mu-
seums, art galleries and
on and on.
I am at a loss to under-
stand why anyone using
a public restroom feels
the need to leave rolls of
toilet paper on the fl oor.
Why does someone dump
a hand towel on the fl oor
instead of in the garbage
receptacle that is 12 inch-
es away? I just don’t get it.
At fi rst, I said I would
just ignore the messes I
encountered. Within a
few weeks of retirement,
I gave into my overly ob-
sessive need to pick up
after others and started
to clean up restrooms.
Whenever
possible,
I pick up the toilet pa-
per that is strewn on
the fl oor (clean and dry
only!). I pick up the pa-
per towels from the fl oor
and put them in the
trash can – and smoosh
the trash down, too, so
there’s room for more. I
have wiped off the sinks
and even refi lled the soap
dispenser on a couple
of occasions. (And yes,
I wash my hands thor-
oughly after my tasks are
complete.)
My totally unscientifi c
observations refl ect only
what I’ve found in the
ladies’ rooms – maybe
you men are much neater
and this problem never
occurs. But ladies, I have
to conclude, some of you
are slobs.
My compulsion to
“clean up after you” has
extended to other ven-
ues. For example, last
fall I was at one of our
metro department stores
helping my son pick out
a suit for a friend’s wed-
ding. Two clearance ta-
bles were located next to
the men’s fi tting rooms,
dumped to overfl owing
with character T-shirts
and other miscellaneous
items. Within the time it
took my son to try on a
variety of options, I had
both tables neatened up,
sorted by Spiderman,
Guardians of the Galaxy
and Transformers, and
then by size and color.
My neatness obses-
sion on the road is a bit
of a mystery because I
am not that neat in gen-
eral (ask my husband). I
have magazines, sweaters
and cookbooks scattered
throughout the house on
any given day.
So, America, consider
this the big group email:
“Please be courteous to
others and pick up after
yourselves.”
The email concludes, as
you have guessed by now,
“Your mother doesn’t
work here.”
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