KHTS Owner Carl Goldman is searching for answers to the medical problems that have plagued him over the past several months, with doctors now unsure what is causing his nerve deterioration.

Hello Again

Sorry to disappoint once again, but this is KHTS News Director Michael Brown here, and not Carl. 

Carl is still unable to type the long journals that he used to due to his current condition. 

“I type with one finger and even moving a mouse is a challenge,” he told me when I saw him Tuesday. “So answering an email, which should take about 20 seconds, could take 20 minutes.”

He is waiting to get dictation software installed on his computer, so hopefully you might get the next update straight from the source. But until then, you are all stuck with me.

I’d like to thank you all again for all of the love and prayers you have all been sending the Goldmans’ way. It really does bring a smile to their faces, as well as all of the faces here in the newsroom, to know that we live in such a supportive community.

The Story So Far 

For those who may not have been keeping up with Carl’s journey (which can be read here), let me give you a brief summary.

Back in February, Carl captured the attention of the world when he began to write about his experiences aboard the Diamond Princess Cruise Ship, which was quarantined off in Japan for nearly two weeks. His first-hand account offered us all an inside perspective into what would become one of 2020’s defining moments: the COVID-19 pandemic.

As many of you probably know already, Carl would test positive for the coronavirus upon his return to the United States, causing him to be quarantined for several more weeks in the biocontainment unit at the University of Nebraska hospital. All the while, he continued to write daily, with his trademark wit and attention to detail.

He would return home in March to a state locked down due to the very virus he had defeated in Nebraska. He still likes to joke that he was the “longest quarantined American.”

After that, Carl’s writing slowed down. He would offer us personal updates on large events, such as when his interview on “60 Minutes” was aired, or when he and Jeri met with President Trump in April, but his days of writing daily were over.

After Carl returned home from Nebraska in March, he started to contend with health issues brought about by the Guillain-Barre syndrome that he had been diagnosed with before leaving for his cruise on the Diamond Princess.

For those of you who may not know, Guillain-Barre is a rare disorder in which your body’s own immune system attacks your nerves.

When we last heard from Carl, he had been diagnosed with Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy (CIDP), a neurological disorder characterized by “progressive weakness and impaired sensory function in the legs and arms” (read all about how we got to this point here if you need to catch up).

Carl went to Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital to undergo a process known as plasmapheresis, which involved separating the plasma from his blood, and replacing it with either healthy plasma or a plasma substitute. Unfortunately, the process did not work, and Carl spent over three weeks in Henry Mayo, where he worked to learn how to walk again and strengthen his fingers, all the while looking for alternative treatments.

In addition to Henry Mayo, Carl has visited Providence Holy Cross for treatment. He says that the staff from both hospitals have been “awesome.”

A Medical Mystery — Carl Goldman — Day 281 (Wednesday, Nov. 11)

Since then, Carl was transferred to a specialist at Cedars-Sinai, who gave our station owner a surprising diagnosis.

“He decided I didn’t have CIDP, didn’t have Guillain-Barre,” Carl said. “It’s something similar to it, but not (CIDP). It didn’t fit all the parameters.”

Over the past two months, Carl has had “every kind of test conceivable” in order to determine what actually is happening with his body. The good news: none of the tests came back positive, meaning that Carl doesn’t have anything life-threatening such as cancer or Multiple Sclerosis (M.S.).

As for the bad news, well, I’ll let Carl say it:

“The bad news is they don’t know what the hell I’ve got,” he said. “So it’s back to the drawing board.”

Carl is due back to see that specialist in two weeks. In the meantime, the doctor has been consulting with a variety of his colleagues to figure out what is going on with Carl Goldman.

For his part, Carl hopes that they’ll have a better idea of what they’re up against in two weeks, as that would help them determine how to treat his condition.

It is still unclear whether or not Carl’s bout with COVID-19 had any impact or connection with his current condition.

“Do I now have a cocktail of aftereffects of COVID mixed in with CIDP? That’s created a whole new challenge,” Carl said. “That may baffle them for many many years.”

All doctors know for sure is that Carl’s condition causes the antibodies in his blood to attack his nerves, which has left Carl bound to a wheelchair for the time being.

“It’s very, very frustrating,” he said. “Each day is different because my nerves and my dexterity, both in my feet and hands, continue to decrease, which makes it more challenging to do the simple tasks.” 

The Road Ahead

However, despite the challenges he faces, Carl remains optimistic.

“Because I’m going through very, very elaborate therapy, and workouts, and physical therapy, and training, my muscles are getting stronger,” he said. “So there’s lots of little victories each day that make me happy and really optimistic.”

One such victory for Carl is the ability to transfer himself from his wheelchair to the bathroom all on his own, an accomplishment that Carl calls “gigantic.”

“It’s a little thing,” he said. “You laugh at it, but I can do that now for the last three, four weeks.”

While Carl may no longer be able to achieve his original dream of skiing this winter, he now has a new goal of being able to walk using only his walker by his birthday at the end of February.

“My goal would be to be able to walk 1,000 steps a day, 2000 steps a day, and be able to be on my own with a walker,” he said. “I was pretty independent, and now I’m not independent.”

Carl noted that he would not have been able to handle this predicament as well as he has without the support and motivation from his wife Jeri, who has pushed Carl to stay motivated.

“So it’s the little things, getting more and more independence, relying less on my wife, Jeri, to do everything for me, and forcing me to reach that goal of being totally independent,” he said.

Carl closed our visit by encouraging everyone to “live for the present,” as that mentality has helped him remain positive.

“You really have to live in the present, and surrender to it to some degree to know that it’s out of my control,” he said. “What is in my control is getting stronger each day, is being aggressive and trying to find the right kind of solution for this.”

Read All Of Carl’s (and Michael’s) Journals Here: Carl Goldman Coronavirus Journals

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