Medical resident to be on ‘Today’

Medical resident Jesse Lieberman, left, listens as Dr. Gregg Talente, right, speaks with a group of residents and students. Lieberman will be featured on NBC’s “Today” show this month. Photo by Cliff Hollis

(Nov. 2, 2004)   —   Jesse Lieberman, a quadriplegic first-year general internal medicine resident at East Carolina University, will be featured on NBC’s “Today” show in mid-November. 

A crew followed Lieberman during rounds in early October for a segment in the series, “Against All Odds,” is tentatively scheduled to air November 22, 23 or 24 on “Today,” though the airdate could change. 

Lieberman was a medical student at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem when he fell from a third-story balcony in February 2003, landed on his head and injured his spine. He can move his biceps and shoulders slightly, but not his legs. Nevertheless, he finished medical school on time and began his internship year at ECU in July. 

Next year, he will go to the Charlotte (N.C.) Institute of Rehabilitation to complete his residency in physical medicine and rehabilitation. Also interviewed for the “Today” show were Mary Printz, a nurse practitioner who assists Lieberman; and Dr Ralph Whatley, chairman of ECU’s Department of Internal Medicine.