Dr. Jason Goldfeder


Doctor Becomes Unwilling Expert On ALS
Created: 8/29/2007 11:26:50 PM
Last updated: 8/30/2007 8:41:10 AM

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Click to watch Mike Bush's report.

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By Mike Bush

(KSDK) - He talks slower now. His voice is weaker. But his mind is as sharp as a scalpel. And Dr. Jason Goldfeder is still doing what he loves: training medical students at Washington University School of Medicine.Advertisement



"He's very organized, he's very patient and he's a good teacher," said Dr. Nguiet Nguien. She should know -- she used to be his supervisor.

Goldfeder was vigorous and athletic.

On vacation, he would go skiing, both on snow and water. He would also go snorkeling.

And his supervisor? He married her.

"I just liked him because he's a nice person. Not a huge ego," said Nguien.

Then one day about 2 1/2 years ago after another afternoon in Forest Park, they both noticed that Goldfeder had a dropped foot.

We would walk together and I'd hear the one foot slapping and slapping and slapping. . I think he figured if he ignored it, it would go away," said Nguien.

But Goldfeder finally decided to see a doctor.

When you choose medicine as a career, death and disease are an expected part of the business.

But what happened next was completely unexpected.

"The diagnosis was a total shock," explained Goldfeder.

Goldfeder, then just 35-years-old had, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis.

"I feel foolish. Two doctors from a fairly reputable medical center that ALS never popped into our mind," said Nguien.

ALS may be better known as Lou Gehrig's disease, named after the Hall of Fame baseball player.

It attacks the nervous system causing muscles to waste away.

And nearly 70 years after Gehrig's famous farewell speech at Yankee stadium, the disease is still a mystery.

Goldfeder and his wife made the choice to take one day at a time.

"What I tried to do is make things as normal as possible," he said.

"You can sit there and cry yourself into a major depression if you focus on the bad," said Nguien.

He'd much rather be helping patients than being one, which is why, while he had to quit working full-time, Goldfeder still makes the effort to work part-time.

Even as his muscles get weaker he finds strength in the moments that mean the most: time with family and friends.

Life often has cruel ironies.

For Goldfeder, he spent a career trying to cure others, yet can't cure himself.

Still, in his house the goal is to make everyday productive and meaningful.

"In general we still laugh a lot and we still have a lot of fun," said Nguien

And it seems no matter how much time any of us have left, that is a prescription for hope.

NewsChannel 5 and the Muscular Dystrophy Association are partnering for the 42nd Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon. Join Mike Bush beginning Sunday, September 2 at 10:30 p.m. as he broadcasts live from Grant's Farm. Click here to learn more.
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