Sun Devils’ ‘success is not final’

what the patient says it is.”

In the distorted media image of drugcrazed patients, the majority of patients with challenging chronic pain are overlooked. Most of us are fakers, con artists or addicts. We are previously highfunctioning, hardworking people who face sometimes little-known conditions.

In my case, it’s sciatic-nerve entrapment by the piriformis. No surgeons in Arizona treat this condition, so I had to go out of state. Chronic pain is a daily companion. Although I have not tried marijuana as a pain reliever, I know there are many who find relief from their symptoms by using it.

Everyone’s DNA is different, and we metabolize pain medicine differently. No one should cast aspersions until he or she stands in the shoes of a chronic-pain patient. We need the media to support us on this, not vilify or distort us.

— Linda VandeVerde,

The football season is far from over for the Arizona State University Sun Devils. At this hallowed juncture, they should be mindful of a quote from Winston Churchill:

“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: It is the courage to continue that counts.”

Respectfully, submitted with hopes it can be passed on to ASU coach Todd Graham and the team.

— Lawrence A. Beer,