Bob Woodruff‘s brother David Woodruff appeared on Good Morning America today to discuss Bob’s progress.
“He’s starting to talk. He’s speaking with his family, with his doctors. He’s been up and walking. He talked to his daughter Cathryn on the phone just yesterday,” David said.
But Woodruff is on very heavy pain medication.
“He’s not talking up a blue streak, he’s not sitting there having long conversations with anybody,” David said. “A couple sentences here, a few words there. But the great news about that is he’s communicating with everybody around him, he recognizes people, he talks about things.”
He has also spoken in Chinese and German. The full transcript is after the jump…
DIANE: WE HAVE GOTTEN SO MANY LETTERS AND REQUESTS ASKING FOR NEWS ON THE CONDITION OF OUR COLLEAGUE, OUR FRIEND, “WORLD NEWS TONIGHT” CO-ANCHOR BOB WOODRUFF. AND I KNOW HIS FAMILY IS SO GRATEFUL, TOO. YOU WILL REMEMBER BOB AND HIS CAMERAMAN, DOUG VOGT, WERE INJURED BY A ROADSIDE BOMB ATTACK IN IRAQ ON JANUARY 29, A LITTLE MORE THAN A MONTH AGO AND BOB’S SLIGHTLY OLDER BROTHER–A YEAR AND A HALF–DAVE WOODRUFF JOINS US. AND YOU HAVE NEWS IN THE LAST 48 HOURS.
DAVID WOODRUFF: YES WE DO, DIANE. ACTUALLY IT’S GREAT NEWS. HE’S STARTING TO TALK. HE’S SPEAKING WITH HIS FAMILY, WITH HIS DOCTORS. HE’S BEEN UP AND WALKING. HE TALKED TO HIS DAUGHTER CATHRYN ON THE PHONE JUST YESTERDAY.
DIANE SAWYER: WHAT DID HE SAY?
DAVID WOODRUFF: HE SAID I LOVE YOU AND I’M SURE YOU’VE MISSED ME.
SO HE’S DOING GREAT. HE’S REALLY COMING ALONG AND THE DOCTORS CONTINUE TO TELL US THAT THIS IS GOING TO BE A LONG TIME FOR HIM TO RECOVER BUT HE’S DOING GREAT. IN THE LAST COUPLE DAYS HE’S
TAKEN A LOT OF GREAT LEAPS FORWARD.
DIANE SAWYER: THIS IS A CHEER FROM EVERYBODY AT ABC NEWS.
BUT HE IS STILL ON PAIN MEDICATION? WHEN YOU SAY HE’S TALKING, IT’S STILL THE KIND OF TALKING WE ALL DO ON PAIN MEDICATION?
DAVID WOODRUFF: YES. HE’S ON VERY HEAVY PAIN MEDICATION STILL.
HE’S NOT TALKING UP A BLUE STREAK, HE’S NOT SITTING THERE HAVING LONG CONVERSATIONS WITH ANYBODY. A COUPLE SENTENCES HERE, A FEW WORDS THERE. BUT THE GREAT NEWS ABOUT THAT IS HE’S COMMUNE INDICATING WITH EVERYBODY AROUND HIM, HE RECOGNIZES PEOPLE, HE TALKS ABOUT THINGS. IT’S ALL OVER THE BOARD, BUT HE’S DEFINITELY DOING SO MUCH BETTER.
DIANE SAWYER: IN FACT, NOT A LOT OF PEOPLE KNEW HOW MANY LANGUAGES BOB SPEAKS. AND YOU SAID HE’S EVEN SPOKEN IN SOME OF THEM?
DAVID WOODRUFF: HE HAS. HE’S SPOKEN IN CHINESE AND GERMAN, WHICH IS A GREAT, GREAT THING TO SEE.
DIANE SAWYER: HIS WONDERFUL FAMILY–AND BOY, DO WE ADMIRE AND LOVE LEE, AND ALSO THE KIDS. AND THE KIDS HAVE BEEN IN TO SEE HIM, ALL OF THEM—MACK, CATHRYN, NORA, AND CLAIRE?
DAVID WOODRUFF: THEY’VE ALL SEEN HIM SEVERAL TIMES AND THEY’LL CONTINUE TO DO THAT. OBVIOUSLY THAT’S KEY. THE DOCTORS HAVE TOLD US THAT HAVING HIS FAMILY AROUND IS GOING TO BE CRITICAL TO HIS FULL RECOVERY. SO THEY’VE SEEN HIM AND THEY’LL CONTINUE TO DO SO.
DIANE SAWYER: WHEN YOU SAY THAT HE IS WALKING, DO YOU MEAN FULLY WALKING?
DAVID WOODRUFF: NO. HE’S JUST GETTING UP AND GETTING IN THE PROCESS OF REBUILDING HIMSELF PHYSICALLY. BUT THE DOCTORS HAVE SAID ALL ALONG, I THINK WE’VE TALKED ABOUT THAT BEFORE,
THAT HE’S AN INCREDIBLY STRONG GUY. HE’S STILL IN PRETTY GOOD SHAPE CONSIDERING THE FIVE WEEKS THAT HE’S BEEN DOWN. BUT HE’S UP AND THEY’RE WORKING WITH HIM AND GETTING THOSE MUSCLES BACK IN SHAPE. IT’S GOING TO BE IMPORTANT FOR HIS RECOVERY.
DIANE SAWYER: YOU SAID HE’S ALWAYS BEEN THE OVERACHIEVER?
DAVID WOODRUFF: HE HAS. MY BROTHER HAS BEEN AN OVERACHIEVER HIS ENTIRE LIFE. I THINK NONE OF US EXPECTED HIM TO DO ANY LESS IN THIS PROCESS. AND WE KNOW THAT TOP ON HIS MIND IS GOING TO BE GETTING BACK TO HIS FAMILY AND HIS KIDS AND GETTING BACK TO DOING WHAT HE LOVES TO DO.
DIANE SAWYER: YOU SAID, ACCORDING TO SOMETHING I READ, THAT YOU WENT IN AND SAID TO HIM, ‘YOUR FACE IS STILL A TV FACE’?
DAVID WOODRUFF: THAT WAS A WHILE AGO, YES. AND EVEN IN HIS HEAVY SEDATION, TALKING TO HIM ALL THE TIME, TRYING TO REASSURE HIM THAT HE WAS SAFE AND THINGS WERE GOOD. AND I JUST LOOKED DOWN TO HIM AT ONE POINT AND SAID, ‘YOU KNOW, BOB, I HATE TO TELL YOU BUT YOU STILL HAVE A FACE FOR TV’AND HE SMILED. AND THAT WAS THE FIRST REACTION I GOT OUT OF HIM AND IT WAS GREAT.
DIANE SAWYER: ASTONISHING EVEN IN SEDATION HE GOT THE
JOKE. HE DID. BOTTOM LINE, DO THE DOCTORS SAY TO YOU WHEN HE’LL BE BACK, WHICH IS, OF COURSE, THE MOST DEVOUT WISH OF EVERY SINGLE PERSON AT ABC NEWS?
DAVID WOODRUFF: ALL ALONG THROUGH THIS WHOLE PROCESS, THEY WOULD NOT GIVE US ANY TIMETABLES. BUT WHAT’S REALLY ENCOURAGING IS THEY HAVE SAID ALL ALONG THAT HIS
CHANCES FOR RECOVERY ARE EXCELLENT. THIS IS A GUY WHO, OBVIOUSLY VERY INTELLIGENT GUY, WHO SURVIVED SOMETHING THAT’S PRETTY TRAUMATIC. LIKE I SAID, HE’S AN OVERACHIEVER.
I THINK HE’S GOING TO COME BACK. WHEN THAT IS, IS WHEN HE’S READY. BUT I THINK HE’S CLEARLY GOING TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT.
DIANE SAWYER: AND HE MIGHT START THERAPY IN SOME OTHER PLACE SOON IN ANOTHER COUPLE WEEKS?
DAVID WOODRUFF: YEAH, HE’S GONE ONTO THE SECOND PHASE OF HIS RECOVERY. HIS ACUTE MEDICAL CONDITIONS HAVE BEEN TAKEN CARE OF AND NOW HE’S AWAKE AND HE’S TALKING AND HE’S DOING THE THINGS WE WERE TALKING ABOUT. THE NEXT STAGE WILL BE FOR HIM TO GO INTO A REHAB SITUATION. AND WE’RE HOPING THAT WILL BE VERY SHORTLY AND THAT WOULD BE MOVING TO ANOTHER PLACE. AND WE’RE STILL WORKING ON DETERMINING WHERE THAT’S GOING TO BE.
DIANE SAWYER: DAVE, THANKS SO MUCH FOR COMING IN. HELLO LEE AND THE FAMILY. AND AGAIN, THERE IS NO NEWS WE WANT TO HEAR MORE THAN THIS NEWS. AND WE WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT BOB’S CAMERAMAN DOUG VOGT IS BACK AT HOME WITH HIS FAMILY IN FRANCE, DOING WELL, WORKING ON HIS REHAB. WE THINK OF HIM, LOVE HIM, AND LOVE HIS FAMILY, TOO.