Chillicothe resident Corbin Shoemaker takes great comfort knowing that Siyun Li, MD, of Adena Orthopedic and Spine Institute has been both a friend and partner in his years-long battle with epilepsy. 

Corbin began having seizures and was diagnosed with epilepsy at the age of 23. Unable to figure out what was causing it, he explored several options involving anti-convulsive medications, but was still experiencing multiple seizures a day several times per week. For the past 10 years, he has been a patient of Dr. Li’s, with the two of them exploring several other options together before settling on having a nerve stimulation device implanted at The Ohio State University in January of 2017.  

The decision was a wise one, getting the seizures under control and, Corbin feels, keeping him alive. 

Corbin appreciates the time spent by Dr. Li to explore his various options and do whatever is best for his patients. Perhaps even more than that, he appreciates the physician’s caring, sense of humor, and friendship, saying Dr. Li has always been available when Corbin has issues arise and has even come to work when the office isn’t open when one of those instances occurred. 

One time, Corbin said he came across Dr. Li in public, who tapped him on the shoulder to ask him if he was doing all right. That day, Corbin had experienced several seizures and looked so visibly ill that Dr. Li arranged to have him come to the office without him even having to call. 

That type of caring has made a real difference in his life, Corbin notes. 

“Dr. Li might be my doctor, but he has actually been more of a friend,” he says.