Two months after finishing his final chemotherapy session, "The Voice of the Crimson Tide," Eli Gold, had some great news to deliver after his latest PET scan came back clean.
Over the past few years, Gold has battled multiple health issues over the past few years, starting in 2020 when he fought through pain after shoulder surgeries to continue broadcasting Alabama games. In August 2022, it was announced that Gold was sidelined with health issues and would not call games for that season. Just months later, Gold jumped on the Crimson Tide Sports Network to inform everyone that he was not sick but was battling orthopedic issues.
"My legs stopped working way back over a year ago," Gold explained. "I woke up one morning, and my legs wouldn't work. I mean, I went to bed -- I was walking, I walk into the bedroom. I wake up the next morning, my legs don't work."
After spending nearly six months in and out of hospitals and a nursing home, Gold got a bad case of the hiccups that were causing him breathing difficulties, that he finally got a cancer diagnosis on Christmas Eve and later revealed that he had a treatable form of cancer.
"I couldn't even catch my breath," Gold said. "I was struggling to breathe because I couldn't get any breath because I was hiccuping. The doctor, who they brought in to figure this deal out with the hiccups, is the one who stumbled upon what that was doing and why it was happening. And because of that, I had cancer."
Thursday, on his weekly appearance on WNSP radio in Mobile, Gold revealed the good news. "No cancer," Gold told Mark Heim, "I was free and clear of cancer. Now, it's just a matter of getting stronger and being ready for the start of the season."
Gold had announced two months ago that he planned to return to the Crimson Tide broadcasting team for the first football game of the season on September 2, and this good news makes his goal much closer to reality. Gold said there would be more appointments and scans to keep an eye on the situation, but his focus is on getting strong enough to make his plan a reality and be back in the booth for the start of the 2023 season.
The Tide play host to Middle Tennessee for their season opener and Gold's scheduled return on September 2.
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