I became a patient of Dr. Leonard in early 1998, when a particularly bad exacerbation manifested and lasted significantly longer than those previously experienced. As you on the Medical Review Board must know, Multiple Sclerosis is an incurable and debilitating disease that strikes each victim in both imprecise locations and changing intensity at different times within the victim's central nervous system. Medical care provided by the Department of Defense (DoD) and Veterans' Administration (VA) did not and still do not provide for the necessary individualized treatment for MS patients. Had it not been for Dr. Leonard's level of current medical knowledge and experience with diagnosing and treating MS patients, my recovery period would have been longer and left me with worsened health.

He recognized the level of misery that I was suffering and initiated treatment and medications that had not been provided DoD or VA. I responded quickly and positively to his therapy and recovered some sense of normalcy. On other occasions, Dr. Leonard was responsible for restoring the full use of my left hand, reducing the intensity of my nearly constant headaches and frequent migraines, increasing my everyday energy levels, diagnosing and referring me for treatment of a spiral fracture of my left femoral neck that resulted from a fall, and numerous other problems. His professional care and attention to identifying many unique problems associated with MS has not only improved my physical health since but also greatly improved my mental health.

In my humble opinion, Dr. Philip J. Leonard is among the finest and most  professional individuals within the medical profession. Since my first meeting, I have been thoroughly impressed by his expanding range of specific medical knowledge and expertise. I am continually amazed by the breadth of his knowledge and interest in world history, current events, politics, and nearly every subject that we have discussed. What I am attempting to state is that Dr. Leonard has always taken the time necessary to extract enough relevant information to allow him to make correct diagnoses and practice good medicine. He has always exuded professional and personal confidence increasing my comfort level that I am in trustworthy hands. One of my wife's female friends is also a patient of  Dr. Leonard; she has stated to my wife that her experiences with him has always been at the highest professional level and cannot believe any truth to the accusations brought against him. He is a genuine humanitarian; I  wish that more doctors would be like him. Our world would be a better  place with less individual suffering and greater understanding between of  the doctor/patient relationship.

The reader of my short letter should be able to understand that I am thoroughly pleased with the care and association with the good Dr. Leonard.

I consider his judgment and examination methodologies to be unquestionable and are within the highest standards of medical ethics. More doctors of his caliber are desperately needed by us; unfortunately, there are too few It is my sincerest hope that Dr. Philip J. Leonard be allowed the privilege to again practice medicine within the critical specialty of neurology and associated injuries and diseases.

Sincerely,
RODNEY L. RAWLINGS
 Brigadier General, AUS (ret)
--- Rodney Rawlings
--- rodrawlings@earthlink.net