As a teenager in 1977, I experienced a debilitating motorcycle accident, which left me with chronic pain and mobility issues. Despite that, after a long healing process, I was able to do many physical things in my life. As my difficulties increased, I did grow into an increasingly sedentary lifestyle. I also have a strong family history of cardiac disease. In my early 40s, I had a heart attack which required bypass repair. I found myself unable to consistently and effectively perform my cardiac rehab workouts. This led me to seek medical assistance. Around 2010 I was referred to an excellent pain specialist who helped me find a balance of medications which would allow me to perform needed tasks without compromising my overall health. It was devastating to me when my doctor died suddenly in 2015. The entire area of pain management was going through a lot of changes at this time, as it continues to. Because I was self-pay (no insurance and too young for Medicare) I had a difficult time getting accepted by another physician. When I did get set up with Dr. Tanga, it proved to be a rewarding physician-patient relationship. We were able to establish realistic objectives based on needs which have evolved over time. I became the primary caregiver during the last years of my parents' lives. My mother died in 2012. I was caring for my father during the time that Dr. Tanga was my physician. During the years that he treated me, Dr. Tanga took a personal interest in the circumstances of my life and that of my father. Our conversations were often centered on how best to utilize pain management to allow me to fulfill the requirements of my life and to be as comfortable as possible. My wife died in 2015. After seeing me flounder emotionally for quite a while, Dr. Tanga encouraged me to seek mental health assistance. This process turned out to be long, often painful, and ultimately rewarding. Besides his interest in my welfare, Dr. Tanga stayed in the loop with my mental health care as well as my other physicians. As he described it to me, pain issues affect and are affected by every aspect of a person's life. I know that it has been the case for me. In addition to the potential benefits, the medications involved usually have side effects and the addictive properties are always a concern. Finding and maintaining the best balance is ideally a team effort between patient, physician and support staff. That was my experience with Dr. Tanga. When it became obvious that my father would not live much longer and that my needs would be changing, Dr. Tanga worked with me to taper down the dosages of my medicines in preparation for transitioning out of pain management. Even after I left his practice, he called several times to check on my progress. I never expected pain management to make me pain free, and it did not. It did give me a level of functionality that would have otherwise been unavailable to me. I am grateful for the extra decade of mobility that it gave me. These days I get around a lot slower, but my need to move faster is much less. read more