When Phoenix clinician Ronald Goldstein, CPO, FAAOP, got a call from Hollywood, he thought it was a joke.
“I thought someone either on my staff or a friend was playing a practical joke with me, so initially I didn’t believe it,” he told ABC’s Phoenix 15 News. However, the call from a writer at the hit television show Grey’s Anatomy was real, and the production company wanted to feature one of Goldstein’s unique prostheses on the show.
The leg, created for Maricopa County Sheriff’s Deputy Doug Matteson, had a complex hybrid socket that allowed the transtibial amputee, who had extremely complex skin issues on his residual limb, to remove his leg from the socket and rest his knee on a platform while still using the leg for ambulation. Grey’s Anatomy producers wanted to use a real prosthesis in an episode in which a character sustained an amputation and realized that Goldstein’s design would allow an actor with no amputation to perform the scene without a green screen. The producers invited Goldstein and four members of his staff to join the show’s cast and crew on set during filming of the episode.
There, producers gave Goldstein an official “Seattle Grace Hospital” badge that identifies him as director of prosthetics for the fictional hospital.
“It was certainly exciting to be on the set and meet everybody. I mean, Patrick Dempsey, Katherine Heigl-everybody was great and just so nice and so down to earth,” Goldstein told ABC 15 News. “They all came out and said ‘Oh, you’re the prosthetic guy from Arizona…’ I didn’t ask for this or anything. It’s really fun and odd at the same time. I’m just really honored that they wanted to use me.”
Matteson, a former SWAT team member and National Hockey League (NHL) player, no longer uses the leg featured on the show. “I do have a new leg, and it’s great, and it’s all because of Ron…. I’m just thrilled that he got this kind of attention. He deserves it-he’s been so dedicated to me and others. He’s just a great person and I’m so happy for him,” Matteson said.
