John Binder - Be Present, Be Love(d) | by Kate Blakeslee

Meet John Binder. John and his family are a part of our community, and he is really shaking things up in the medical community here in Billings. John is a pediatric neurologist and describes this field as "the most rewarding, interesting, and fun specialty." He calls the brain the "most interesting and least understood part of the body." Sounds easy, right? As a neurologist, John works to treat people (in his case kids) with brain and nerve problems. He is living and breathing our mission to Be Present and to Be the Embodiment of Love as he practices what he calls a "perfect intersection between great families and a fascinating field." He's a caring guy AND a scientist.

Spinal Muscular Atrophy is a rare neurologic condition affecting kids. It causes a decline in motor skills that often results in death. It was not until December 2016 that there was an FDA-approved medication to treat SMA. Diseases like SMA that don’t have treatments are one of the most difficult part of John’s job. But with a new drug called Spinraza, SMA patients have promising treatment that is completely changing the course of this devastating disease. However, treatment is extremely expensive at $100,000 per treatment, and it is difficult to administer. The medication must be injected directly into the cerebrospinal fluid (think spinal tap). These obstacles require many people working together to overcome the barriers.

John rallied the troops at Billings Clinic. Ten months later, he and his team had established a way to provide this treatment in Billings to kids with SMA. This is amazing as oftentimes kids and their families have to travel to places like Denver and Seattle to obtain this type of specialty care. Getting the medical care they need in their own community lifts a huge burden off his patients. What an amazing benefit to the city of Billings.

John describes some of his best days at work by talking about improving quality of life for seizure patients and migraine suffers. However, delivering bad news to patients and families does not make for a terrible day. Those circumstances are what John calls a privilege and he is practicing the art of being present and open, shouldering heavy burdens and carrying loads with his patients.

We are so lucky to have Dr. John in our city, caring for kids. But we are also so lucky to have John and his wife Kelli in our community, teaching us how to Be the Embodiment of Love and how to do hard things in life, especially when taking care of people is part of the equation.