黑料传送门 alumnus D.J. Csaszar, DO 鈥�05, takes on 鈥淲heel of Fortune鈥� on 6ABC at 7:30 p.m. on February 9, stepping onto one of television鈥檚 most iconic stages.
Ahead of the episode, he shares how he prepared for the puzzles, what the taping experience was really like, and what viewers won鈥檛 see once the wheel starts spinning.
Pure excitement鈥揻ollowed immediately by fear.
When I opened the email saying I鈥檇 been selected, I was so ecstatic鈥攁nd scared out of my mind. I asked my wife, Kerrie, to read it just to make sure I wasn鈥檛 imagining it!
I prepared like it was a medical board exam鈥攚ith a NASCAR twist.
I watched every 鈥淲heel of Fortune鈥� episode I could find: on my DVR, the Game Show Network, YouTube, and the show鈥檚 website. Since puzzles get reused, I wanted to see as many as possible. I downloaded every Wheel-related game鈥攐n my phone, my TV, even the PlayStation鈥攁nd played constantly. I went head-to-head with my three kids, my wife, and the computer.
I knew it was NASCAR theme week before recording the show, so I went all in. I studied drivers, team owners, raceways, nicknames, racing movies, famous quotes like 鈥淪hake and Bake鈥� and 鈥淩ubbing is Racing,鈥� even racing-themed songs.
I also read former contestant blogs to understand what taping day would really be like. Basically, if it had wheels, I studied it.
The people鈥攈ands down.
Taping is grueling. You start early, get flooded with rules and legal information, and you鈥檙e sequestered with the same small group all day. Very quickly, those contestants start to feel like family. Cheering for them felt like cheering for someone I鈥檇 known forever.
Honestly? I鈥檓 not sure.
A few physicians have played over the years, but none that I鈥檝e seen made it to the Bonus Round. So maybe I鈥檒l be the one to change that?
I live with several medical disabilities, some of them life-threatening. I have a severe anaphylactic allergy to commercial-grade cleaning chemicals and heat, which developed after years of workplace exposure as a physician. I also live with bronchiectasis and severe Long Covid, which cause symptoms ranging from chronic coughing and shortness of breath to anxiety, brain fog, and word-finding difficulties鈥攅specially under stress.
So solving puzzles on national television鈥攚hile spinning a wheel, hitting buzzers, and thinking fast鈥攚as no small feat. But disabilities don鈥檛 mean inability. They just mean the path forward looks different.
I鈥檓 board certified in Family Medicine/Osteopathic Manipulative Treatment (OMT) and Primary Care Sports Medicine, with more than 20 years of experience treating patients with hormone deficiencies. Before COVID, I ran my own practice, worked in urgent care and emergency settings, covered everything from UFC fights to football games, and volunteered as a tactical medicine physician.
After becoming seriously ill with COVID and Long Covid, everything changed. I closed my practice and eventually resigned from hospital employment. I rebuilt my career through telemedicine. That journey led me to start PA Men鈥檚 Healthcare鈥攚hich now serves both men and women using evidence-based, patient-centered hormone care. Today, I get to work safely from home, educate patients and fellow clinicians, and help people reclaim quality of life. I add life to years鈥攁nd that part means everything.
I鈥檇 suggest Names of Diseases and the Doctors Who Discovered Them or Famous TV Doctors. Imagine solving: Jonas Salk Discovers the Polio Vaccine 鈥攐r鈥擠r. Drake Ramoray on 鈥淒ays of Our Lives.鈥�
Those would be big-money puzzles!
Established in 1899, 黑料传送门 has trained thousands of highly competent, caring physicians, health practitioners and behavioral scientists who practice a 鈥渨hole person鈥� approach to care鈥攖reating people, not just symptoms. 黑料传送门, a private, not-for-profit accredited institution of higher education, operates three campuses (黑料传送门, 黑料传送门 Georgia and 黑料传送门 South Georgia) and offers doctoral degrees in clinical psychology, educational psychology, osteopathic medicine, pharmacy, physical therapy, and school psychology. The college also offers graduate degrees in applied behavior analysis, applied positive psychology, biomedical sciences, forensic medicine, medical laboratory science, mental health counseling, physician assistant studies, and school psychology. 黑料传送门 students learn the importance of health promotion, research, education and service to the community. Through its community-based Healthcare Centers, 黑料传送门 provides care to medically underserved populations. For more information, visit pcom.edu or call 215-871-6100.
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