I am a veteran who retired after 30 years of military service and have had immense back pain for years. I saw Linda Ruzza for the first time, and she was quite comical and genuinely cared about my health and quality of life. She made an immediate impression on me that day, but it was the next appointment that really solidified her care for me and her many other patients.

Six months later, I went in for a follow-up appointment for my health, and she immediately made me laugh once again and was extremely concerned about my overall health. During my time with her, I mentioned the back pain that I have and that they ordered X-rays for me six months ago, but the write-up on them was exactly like the previous doctor had explained. I told her that I had X-rays taken previously, that they also did not show or were very vague, and that the current ones they took were basically the same. I continued to tell her that I had an MRI done, and the MRI showed the damage and issues with my back. She asked me if I still had them, and I said yes.

During this time, she asked me various questions and kept digging in my file to find something relevant to my back pain. She was very concerned and proceeded to tell me her story about her back and told me that she wanted to help me because she knew and understood the back pain issues. She also told me that she had surgery on her back because it had gotten so bad that she was in a wheelchair, but that the doctor she was seeing kept telling her she was fine. I continued telling her what I knew about my back and the issues and thanked her for the chiropractic appointments that they have been sending me to, as they are helping a little. She asked me if I could provide them with a copy of the MRI, so we devised a plan to get them submitted. She then told me that she was going to go speak to the doctor about my back issues and see if we couldn't do something more to help me out.

When she came back in, she said that the doctor was going to move my stuff forward and see what he could do to help me. While we were talking, another nurse came in and mentioned to her that there was another patient who needed to be seen, and without fail or second thought, she asked that nurse to tend to that patient because she was not finished with me. I was flabbergasted as most of the time patients are hurried out but not this time, this was much different. We conversed about my issues quite a bit, and she looked over my X-rays and promised to help me out.

As I was preparing to leave, I thanked them both and promised them that they would have the MRI results later that day. As I was leaving, she told me not to forget to send those over very soon and that she would ensure that the doctor received them immediately. When I returned home later that evening, I uploaded everything to their website, and without fail, I knew that Linda Ruzza had come through. The very next day, Dr. C called me himself and apologized for the pain that I have had and told me that he wanted to help me. He also told me that he could see very clearly that I do have issues and understands that I must be in pain. He immediately ordered new MRIs for me and is probably going to send me out to a specialist, all because this one nurse cared enough and took the time to show empathy and concern for someone else. In my opinion, this type of nurse is a diamond in the rough and deserves to be commended for her selfless service to our veterans and their health on a daily basis.