Today is the first day we go to the
LSI clinic. It's hard to believe we made it and that this is really happening. One of the really nice things about the
LSI process is that you are given an
itinerary/list of appointments that cover the treatment plan and your 5 days in Florida. the itinerary will vary depending on your treatment and special needs. The first day of for my wife consisted of an initial evaluation and medical clearance.
Some of the medical clearance steps can be performed before you get to LSI. In our case, the only thing we were missing was an EKG, a small amount of blood work and some x-rays. We arrived at the clinic as scheduled and wow, it was busy. The waiting room was full of patients. Don't let this discourage you, after sitting there for 5 minutes, you'll quickly realize that the LSI experience is a well oiled machine and that 90% of the people in the room have the same emotions as you.
Prior to arriving, we were sent several new patient and other forms. Make sure to have these filled out before arriving. If you don't, you'll be sitting in the waiting room doing it. The list of forms is quite extensive. In our case, the only form left for my wife to sign was the HIPPA form.
Done.
Now it begins. The waiting room actually has two rooms. One room has high back chairs and the other, normal chairs. The high back were great because it allowed my wife to rest her neck while waiting. The appointments are not much different than a normal doctor visit, a fact we were not sure of. That is, we were not sure if we would spend all day in the clinic.
One thing that hit us really fast was how friendly the staff was.
Our name is called. We are greeted by a very friendly staff member who took my wife to get x-rays of her neck. X-rays are handled on the 1st floor, conveniently located in the lounge. The lounge is a nice airy room with two walls of windows and has recliners, tables, chairs, and a couple of flat screen tv's hanging on the walls for your viewing pleasure. Spouses and/or companions will find themselves spending some time in the lounge. Make sure to test the recliners, it is the nicest recliner I've ever sat in.
After the x-rays, we headed back to the 4th floor and sat again and waiting for our name. Again, our name is called and we were greeted by a very friendly nurse who took us into an examination room. Hope you aren't afraid of heights, the examination rooms have floor to ceiling glass panes with beautiful views of the bay, canals, palm trees, and other structures in the area. Off in the distance, you can see the airport (this just lets you know how close you are to the airport). The nurse proceeds to explain that a series of questions will be asked as part of the initial evaluation and if necessary, perform some tests and blood work. As I mentioned before, the only thing left for us was the blood work and EKG.
The evaluation was very similar to those of any other doctor visit, except with a focus on spine conditions. After explaining how we got there and what the symptoms were, my wife was asked a series of questions. After that, an EKG machine was wheeled into the room. My wife's ticker is in great shape. Another hurdle complete as we march to pain free living.
The nurse instructs my wife to take the "rainbow man" and shade the areas where she has pain, numbness, burning, tingling, or other symptoms. The picture is of a body with different cervical and lumbar vertebrae displayed and the associated areas that they would cause pain (the resulting is a very colorful picture of a person, hence the "rainbow man"). For example, my wife was diagnosed with a bulging disc from the doctor we spoke to in Houston in the C-5 and C-6. The rainbow man showed that this type of irritation would give painful and other sensations in the upper part of her neck, down the shoulder, into the outside of her arms, passing through the elbow and finally into the fingers. Whey, that was a lot. As my wife starts shading in her areas, she comments that she may as well just color in the whole rainbow man. I suspect this isn't uncommon for people being treated at LSI. I will remind you, make sure to articulate all your pain and symptoms. This information plays a critical part in the treatment down the road. The information you provide plus the MRI's and other x-rays become the surgeons tools when it comes time to fix you up. I had one doctor tell me the best diagnosis tool a doctor has is the patient themselves.
After color the rainbow man black (that's the color of the pencil you use to highlight the problematic areas), a practitioner enters the room. This individual reviewed the rainbow man and asked more probing questions and conducts a physical exam. This is nothing more than physical tests, i.e., reflex, range of motion in her neck, strength, and others. Not much different than a physical exam you may get annually from your doctor (if you don't, do it). With rainbow man complete, physical exam complete, EKG complete, blood work complete, and x-rays complete, we are now ready for day 3, MRI evaluation and discussion on the exact procedures necessary to treat the symptoms.
Labels: Family, LSI, Personal
