Article content continued

“I can’t imagine living without him,” says his wife of nearly 52 years, who is angry and frustrated. But from her front-row seat to his misery, the retired nurse also can’t imagine how her husband can stand much more.

He declined to speak to me, preferring that his wife speak for him. At their request, the couple’s names are not being used to protect both their privacy and that of the physicians treating him. The couple is wary of attracting any further attention from the B.C. College of Physicians and Surgeons. His physician — whom they describe as “knowledgeable and compassionate” — received a warning letter from the college last fall after ordering more Tylenol 3 to combat an acute episode.

Last year, in the wake of rising deaths from drugs containing illicit fentanyl, the college set enforceable standards for opioid prescriptions with penalties that include stripping doctors of their licences and a maximum fine of $100,000.

The college emphasizes that those penalties have never been imposed. But few physicians are willing to risk being the first.

After years of having his agony controlled to a bearable level that allowed him to lead a relatively normal life, the Metro Vancouver man no longer believes that’s going to be possible.

“Sometimes the pain is excruciating and still tolerable,” his wife said in a telephone interview. “But every time it gets really bad, he says, ‘I can’t do this any more.’ ”

A few weeks ago, he was walking with a cane. Now, she said, “there is no sign it is letting up. Sometimes he has a few pain-free hours, but the doctor has already reduced the opiate, hoping the lesser dose will be enough. It’s not.”