A glaring shortcoming has been highlighted in US healthcare system after the death of former child actor Blake Garrett at 33.
Best known for his role in “How to Eat Fried Worms,” the former child star passed away Sunday.
While his family was awaiting the autopsy report to determine the exact cause of death, Garrett’s mother, Carol Garrett, said Blake went to the emergency room last week in Oklahoma after experiencing intense pain and was later diagnosed with shingles.
Speaking to TMZ, she said Blake may have self-medicated to cope with the pain from the viral infection. Carol said that her son’s death could have been a tragic accident.
After her mother’s remarks surfaced online, social media expressed concern about how many people with similar conditions lose their lives due to the non availability of medicines.
Commenting on the actor’s death, a user wrote, “From what I’m reading sounds like he went to the ER with severe pain and was diagnosed with shingles. His mother thought he self medicated. I’m going to guess he was told to go home and take ibuprofen and deal with it, when ibuprofen won’t touch that type of pain. Likely bought some fake pain medicine off the street and ODd. Sad but that happens all too much with the opiate restrictions.”
Opiate restrictions in the US are laws and regulations aimed at curbing opioid misuse and overdose deaths, but they can sometimes limit access to pain-relieving medicines for those who need them.
