You'll be hard pressed to find someone more upbeat and positive than Matthew Gray Gubler, which makes it even more tragic that he was diagnosed with a rare health disorder.
Category
✨
PeopleTranscript
00:00You'll be hard-pressed to find someone more upbeat and positive than Matthew Gray Goobler,
00:04which makes it even more tragic that he was diagnosed with a rare health disorder.
00:09Few knew it at the time, but when Goobler started Criminal Minds in 2005, he had a major
00:13health scare.
00:14While filming, he was diagnosed with a condition called achalasia.
00:17It's like a weird thing where your throat won't open, and so for like 26 days I couldn't
00:25swallow anything."
00:26Goobler wasn't exaggerating.
00:29almost impossible.
00:31Jason Singh, M.D., chief medical officer and physician at One Oak Medical, explained that
00:35achalasia either develops when the esophageal sphincter fails to open when food arrives
00:40or when the esophagus fails to move food along to the stomach.
00:42In both instances, patients are unable to swallow.
00:45Singh said,
00:46"'How I describe achalasia is to just imagine trying to push food through a straw that doesn't
00:50want to open at the bottom.'"
00:53If you've never heard of achalasia, you're not alone.
00:55Achalasia was the statistical one out of every 100,000 U.S. citizens who get diagnosed
00:59with the rare disease annually.
01:01The symptoms are wildly unpleasant, to put it mildly, and it's a wonder Goobler managed
01:05to continue filming.
01:06On top of the trouble swallowing food, patients may also experience food and even their saliva
01:11pushing back up from their esophagus.
01:13This can eventually lead to vomiting and other complications, like food ending up in the
01:17lungs, which can lead to pneumonia.
01:19Unfortunately, Goobler's achalasia diagnosis also means he's statistically more likely
01:23to develop esophageal cancer than someone who doesn't have the disease.
01:28It's hard to say how severe Goobler's symptoms were or how long he dealt with the condition.
01:32Outside of his 2012 interview with Craig Ferguson, he hasn't said much about it.
01:36Even the condition itself is something of a mystery.
01:38Johns Hopkins Medicine explains that doctors are more or less baffled about what causes
01:42it and have yet to figure out why some people develop it.
01:45There are some treatment options, but so far there's no cure, and patients often need to
01:49take steps to manage their symptoms for the rest of their lives.
01:52As the Mayo Clinic explains, any damage achalasia does to the esophagus is irreversible, and
01:57medical intervention and treatments are often required to ensure patients can continue to
02:01live normal lives.
02:02Thankfully, Goobler's achalasia doesn't appear to have impacted his career.
02:06He starred in 15 seasons of Criminal Minds, has made multiple film appearances in the
02:10years since his diagnosis, and has maintained his positive, upbeat persona through it all.
02:15What does it feel like to hold a fart in so long that you start to cry?
02:19But experts say things could have been much worse.
02:22Since achalasia can cause gastroesophageal reflux disease, it can affect the vocal cords.
02:27When stomach acid continues to come into contact with the vocal cords, they can become irritated
02:31and inflamed, and in some instances, sustain permanent damage.
02:35That can lead to chronic laryngitis, and patients could end up with a hoarse voice, difficulty
02:39speaking loud, and trouble enunciating their words, all things that can be a career killer
02:43for actors, especially for a fast-talking character like Spencer Reed.
02:47The interchange between the 405 and the 101 freeways is consistently rated the worst interchange
02:51in the entire world.
02:53Why do you know that?"
02:54Jason Singh, MD, told The List that achalasia can also cause people to feel the need to
02:58clear their throat repeatedly, which puts strain on the vocal cords and leads to hoarseness.
03:02As Singh explained,
03:03"...it's certainly a testament to Goobler's talent and perseverance that he's had such
03:07a successful acting career while managing this."
03:11Achalasia isn't the only health issue Goobler has had to deal with over the course of his
03:15While on a press tour for 500 Days of Summer, Goobler severely injured his knee.
03:19He told Who's News,
03:20"...I just got a little too overzealous on the dance floor and managed to pretty much
03:23do something that most knee surgeons have never even thought possible or seen in their
03:27lives.
03:28I just basically dismantled the knee to the point where they were talking about experimental
03:32surgeries in Norway."
03:33Hey, how was your weekend?"
03:35Uh, scary yet informative."
03:37After his multiple surgeries, Goobler had strict instructions to refrain from anything
03:41resembling dancing or running, with the latter being a particularly tricky problem, since
03:45his character's job was to chase after criminals.
03:47So, faced with a seven-month recovery time, the writers on Criminal Minds had to think
03:51up a quick plot twist for why Dr. Spencer Reid was suddenly hobbling around on crutches.
03:55Their solution was to have him get shot in the leg at the beginning of the fifth season.
03:59Goobler initially thought the injury would have a minimal effect on his work in Criminal
04:03Minds, but ended up having to walk on crutches for 12 episodes.
04:06What's this?
04:07You told me you were cleared to travel.
04:08You lied.
04:09Naughty boy.
04:11No, I didn't.
04:12I am a doctor, so technically it wasn't a lie.
04:14Speaking to Who's News, Goobler said the show's creators didn't seem to be able to grasp the
04:18damage he'd done to his knee.
04:20He said,
04:21"'It was funny.
04:22They didn't really seem to believe me.
04:23No one believes I could have done what I did.
04:25I think to the day that people at Criminal Minds have honestly no understanding of what
04:29kind of injury it was."
04:31Because his injury was so unique, doctors weren't sure how to fix it nor what type of
04:35rehab he needed to ensure a full recovery.
04:37Ultimately, he had three surgeries, and he admitted that the ordeal took a toll on him.
04:41He said,
04:42"'No one knew what the protocol was for rehab.
04:44They basically had no plan to follow because it was sort of a unique injury.'"
04:48In a 2015 Instagram post Goobler shared of himself on crutches, he paid tribute to this
04:52difficult time in his life, writing,
04:53"'I became a physical therapy pirate, conquered the impossible, and can now run faster than
04:58I could in high school.
04:59In this picture, I was calling myself to remind myself that I will never be beaten.'"
05:03The injury was a scary one, but in true Goobler fashion, the actor didn't take it too seriously.
05:08Goobler told Who's News that he was pretty certain his knee injury and its miraculous
05:12recovery would be recorded in some medical textbook for future generations to appreciate.
05:16But on a more serious note, added that he made the conscious decision to stay optimistic
05:20amid the injury.
05:21He explained,
05:22"'I could take in the horrible reality or realize that I'm lucky it wasn't my right
05:25leg because at least I can drive.
05:27Bad things happen.
05:28It's how you deal with it that makes it what it is.'"