Wolf -

I'm in complete agreement with both Mslday and hope4thebest that time is truely of the essence with a fresh case of RSD/CRPS. There are treatment options in the first six months (to maybe a year) of the disease that simply don't exist later on.

But as to locations, the webpage of the Sanford/USD Medical Center in Sioux Falls indicates that while it has a "back pain clinic" there doesn't appear to be a more comprehensive pain management service that would treat RSD. Here's their webpage http://www.sanfordhealth.org/ and you can give them a call.

As to the Mayo Clinic, having grown up in Rochester, I know from personal experience that their pain management group does not want to treat "out of town" RSD patients who they can't follow up with on a regular basis. (I learned this as an "out of town" patient with RSD, even though I was staying at with my parents at their home a few blocks away while I was going through the Clinic.) That said, they see a lot of patients, as I know does UCLA in Los Angeles where I now live, through a series of wholly owned feeder clinics, something called the Mayo Health System, with facilities stetching as far west as Lamberton MN. http://www.mayohealthsystem.org/mhs/live/page.cfm If that would be an option for you, you could then be treated in Rochester and followed up through a local clinic, assuming you live in Western Minnesota.

As far as financial assistance, the Mayo Clinic traditionally is very supportive, so long as you have first applied for public medical assistance. (And I suspect that the USD Medical Center operates under the same general rules.) Accordingly, I would make your first order of business on Monday morning calling your county social services department to find out what programs you can qualify for. Please be aware, however, of the following information form a Mayo Clinic websites, which is almost certsinly applicable to other health care providers as well:

Medical Assistance (Medicaid)

Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin and MinnesotaCare

Mayo Clinic, Saint Marys Hospital and Rochester Methodist Hospital participate with the state Medicaid programs of Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin and the state-sponsored program, MinnesotaCare. This participation allows Mayo Clinic to provide services to and bill for patients from these states, with some restrictions. MinnesotaCare and most of the Medical Assistance programs require that some services have prior authorization before payment is allowed. In addition, MinnesotaCare and the Medical Assistance programs typically provide coverage through a managed care health plan. If your coverage is through a managed care plan, you will need an approved referral from the health plan to receive coverage at Mayo Clinic. We recommend checking with your state's Medicaid office or your managed care health plan to verify your health plan's requirements and see that the necessary authorization and/or referrals are completed before your appointment. A pre-service deposit of the estimated charges will be required for unauthorized services. Please call 507-284-4366 with questions.

http://www.mayoclinic.org/billing-rst/#assistance

Finally, this page contains information regarding the Mayo Clinic's policy on "Charity Care": http://www.mayoclinic.org/billing-rs...cialassistance

Good luck. Let us know whenever you think there is any more information we might be able to provide.

Mike