In reading the letter from Beverly Hurwitz (“Give them guns,” March 17), I thought she was writing about me. Her empathetic letter described a person who was suffering endless pain that could not be relieved by opioids due to the crackdown that is ongoing. She soon noticed the person’s obituary and spoke out on the difficulty people in real pain have in trying to procure the meds for factual pain, not addicts.

I have always been involved in active, challenging sports and as a result have suffered many injuries, including three separate spinal fractures. Now I depend on opioids for a nonaddicting method, but even that is an impossible feat. Doctors and hospitals now pretty much refuse to provide opioids for any reason. That is unbelievable, considering a person’s suffering.

Almost three years ago I was prescribed 50 OxyContin pills for my pain. That means that in almost 1,200 days I used 50 pills, an average of one every 24 days. That is pain management, not addiction. I find that some doctors are willing to work with a patient on this and some are very unyielding. A solution is urgent.

Robert Leaper, Sandy