She lives with rheumatoid arthritis, a chronic, painful inflammation of the joints. Leal began experiencing searing, persistent leg pain during her junior year of medical school. She completed medical school and began her residency in a wheelchair. Today, as a family physician and one of the few physicians Certified in Pain Management, Leal is out of the wheel chair thanks to a comprehensive approach to pain management. Her personal experiences provide a unique perspective that strengthens her commitment to treat patients with compassion, understanding and education.
“I believe in learning to thrive from living with chronic pain, which means moving away from the mindset of being a victim or a survivor and taking responsibility for their bodies and for managing their pain,” said Leal. “It is essential that chronic pain sufferers understand that there are alternatives to taking handfuls of medications, including once-a-day dosing for long term pain medication.”
She shares her personal story of discovery in her book, Live Well with Chronic Pain. Her second is to be released nationally in 2010 titled: Cupid’s Challenge, an engaging book discussing intimacy and communication in the face of chronic pain. Leal is medical director of Meridian Medical Dental Executive Healthcare. As a family physician, Leal offers patients an unusually comprehensive range of services, including pain management, hormone evaluations, bio identical hormone replacement, comfortable allergy testing and treatment, stress management, guidance regarding proper nutrition and life coaching. She has worked with organizations where she compiles information for district, regional and national media ventures. In the Arthritis Campaign and Ataca Tu Artritis Campagna, Dr. Leal jointly with actor Eric Estrada “Ponch” from Chips reached 11 million in a satellite media tour. In each campaign gift packages were sent to the viewers, who called in and those who participated in community workshops which include Dr. Leal’s “Top Ten Tips to Manage Arthritis for Life” and “Top Ten Tips to Manage Arthritis at Home and at Work”. In the airings of “On the Road to Joint Pain Relief” infomercial Dr. Leal, serves as a medical expert in the 30 minute infomercial. She has developed training for pharmaceutical company sales representatives some have included: Searle, Pfizer, Ligand, and Cephalon. Currently, she is the spokesperson for Aloecure and Aloederma for international infomercials for natural products for health. in Biology (Pre-Med) at the University of Dallas and a medical degree from the University of Texas Health Science Center Medical School at Houston. She completed her post-graduate training at St. Joseph Family Practice in Houston and is certified by the American Academy of Pain Management. She also is certified to treat patients who suffer from substance abuse and addiction. Leal sits on the faculty of the American Academy of Pain Management and the American Academy of Family Practice. She regularly gives presentations on arthritis and depression, nutrition in pain management and arthritis in the bedroom. She also has served as consulting correspondent on pain and pain management for the UPN and Telemundo networks.
