My name is Ramon L Santiago. I am 74 years old and I was wounded in Vietnam at the age of 31. Since I was wounded, l have lived with pain twenty hours a day at a level between 9 and 10 according with the pain scale. I was wounded during a combat operation where I received shell fragments in my arm, leg and back. As a result, I have back muscle impairment, paralysis of the external popliteal nerve in my right leg and paralysis of my external ulnar nerve in my right arm. I also have PTSD
Due to my extensive injuries, I am now classified as 100% disable. Since I am at a 100 % disability level, I believed that I would l be receiving a top notch health service through the Veteran's Administration, but unfortunately I was wrong. Before I was first able to see a pain doctor, I was told that I needed to wait four to six months for an appointment then an additional two to three months to actually see a doctor. Up until that time I had to use any kind of pain drug including illegal drugs to control my pain and ironically the doctor could also not take care of my pain. They were reluctant of prescribe pain medication. I know that a lot of people abuse pain pills, but my situation requires either injections or pain pills because I went through a number of surgeries and in the last surgery the doctor told that no more surgery can be applied to my ulnar nerve and the popliteal nerve. The reason is that both nerves were so thin that there is no area left to repair them anymore and therefore I will be living the rest of my life taking pain pills. I was going insane. I was taking any kind of pain medication including illegal to alleviate my pain.
One day, I talked to one of my co-workers who had also been wounded in Vietnam and he recommend that I go to see Doctor Dave's. I made an appointment with Dr. Dave's and on my first visit and I was completely blown away by how helpful and kind he was and how fast he got on top of my problems that included pain from combat wounds, high blood pressure and cholesterol. A lot of doctors don't realize how important this is if you are looking for a doctor whose medical knowledge is encyclopedic, treats the whole person, and takes the time to be caring even while maintaining a very efficient office. I was also impressed in how fast he was getting back to me, which is another important trait to find in a doctor when you are a patient in need.
Doctor Dave's maintains a very efficient office and his staff are very professional. His office is brand new, clean, and they run on time. Doctor Dave's consistently answers all my questions before and after making my appointment. He provides a safe, understanding, sympathetic, private practice. For those people in the local area looking for an internal medicine doctor, you should consider visiting Dr. Dave's. He is a great doctor who is extremely knowledgeable and dedicated. His staff is courteous and I like his philosophy of treating any patient no matter the race, religion or sex. Dr. Dave's is always helpful and he is always available. He has personalized service and goes out of his way to "problem solve" using all of his contacts and knowledge to offer multiple solutions. I would highly recommend Dr. Dave's to anyone!
Living with chronic pain is not easy. Few time I was thinking on taking my life until I met Dr. Dave's. He taking care of my illness and now my life is worth living. So If you have found any derogatory comments on the web about him I recognized that not all of us have the same mentality; however, you should pay Dr. Dave's a visit before you make a decision. read more
