By Ed Coghlan.

Here at the National Pain Report, we’ve known a former Marine who lives in Tennessee and suffers from chronic pain for about 18 months. His name is Robert Rose and he has been fighting what only can be called “the good fight”.

He has suffered from chronic pain and when the VA essentially followed the CDC guidelines on opioid prescribing, Robert found that he couldn’t access his pain medication.

Essentially Robert said, “Oh hell no.”

Rose has been battling his local VA Hospital and doctors, his local Congressman from the 1st District on Tennessee Phil Roe (who by the way is the Chairman of the House Committee on the Veterans Affairs) and just about anyone else who gets in his way.

Robert takes his fight to Federal Court in Greeneville today (Tuesday) to ask a federal judge to stop the Department of Veterans Affairs from continuing its so-called Opioid Safety Initiative.

Rose, in a phone call with the National Pain Report last week, emphasized this is not a fight he is waging for himself.

“I’m fighting for every veteran who has served our country and is now being forgotten,” he said. “I just don’t think the federal government should come between a doctor and his patient.”

Rose, whose pugnacity has been chronicled by the National Pain Report for a while now, doesn’t have a lawyer. He is representing himself.

Here is a link to the articles that the National Pain Report has written on Robert Rose

The VA and Congressman Roe are Rose’s targets.

The VA claims that Rose is lacking evidence of constitutional violations – and Roe has been excused from the Tuesday hearing. It’s ironic because Roe has been avoiding Rose for, well, at least the 18 months we’ve been following this story.

What happens Tuesday?

The system is stacked against Robert Rose. I asked him about that.

He said, “I’m on the right side of this issue – the veterans, and for that matter, all chronic pain patients need to be heard. Tuesday, for an hour at least, they’ll hear us.”

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