ABC News anchor Bob Woodruff weighs in on the current status of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords at ABCNews.com. Woodruff has a different perspective than many other reporters covering Giffords, as he has survived a traumatic brain injury himself.
Woddruff was severely wounded by an IED in Iraq in 2006.
He ended up undergoing surgery very similar to the one that was done on Giffords, with doctors removing a section of his skull to deal with brain swelling.
But in one way her case is more hopeful. She responded to verbal commands by the doctors and reacted by squeezing their finger, indicating she understood, although she could not speak. I never heard the words and never squeezed my doctors’ fingers when they tried to get me to respond…
Medicine has never been so advanced as it is today. If I was hit five years earlier I really don’t believe I would have survived. I know in my heart that she will recover as well.