Dear Nancy -

Forgive me, but I just got off the boat, so to speak. Do you have any choice as to whom you see as a doctor? Can your attorney advise you in this regard?

I ask because much may turn on a prompt and proper diagnosis (legally for sure and perhaps medically as well) and yet it doesn't sound like you'll be going anywhere soon with this guy. Oh, and as to the "rarity" of spread, see, "The Natural History of Complex Regional Pain Syndrome," Schwartzman RJ, Erwin KL, Alexander GM, Clin J Pain 2009; 25:2 73-280, full text at http://www.rsds.org/2/library/articl...lexanderGM.pdf at p. 275 (at least 92% of respondants, among people who had had CRPS for at least one year, reported some form of spread, with 35% reporting pain having spread through their entire body). Not that the guy was even open to reading what was in front of his face, figuratively or literally.

God's speed to you,
Mike