Giffords strong enough to watch TV for an hour

[RamboLiberal]

Source: CNN

Gabrielle Giffords watched an hour of television from her hospital bed, a development her husband Mark Kelly called "exciting," said Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, a friend of Giffords who spoke to Kelly Tuesday.

"Last night or the night before she watched television -- it was CNN in fact --- and the fact that she was able to do that for about an hour, in terms of attention span, they were pretty excited about that," Wasserman said.

The Democrat from Florida added Kelly remains optimistic that his wife will make a full recovery.

"Doctors continue to tell them they're hopeful about how much she'll recover. With each day she's able to do things that are a little more complex than she had been doing before," she said.



Read more: fords/index.html?hpt=T2

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Mark Kelly Watches State of the Union Speech in Hospital with Gabrielle Giffords

Rep. Gabrielle Giffords' office released a photo on Tuesday night of Mark Kelly, Giffords' husband, watching President Obama's State of the Union address with her in a hospital room in Houston.

Mr. Obama paid tribute to Rep. Giffords in the beginning of his remarks on Tuesday, and urged Americans to let the recent tragedy in Tucson stand as a reminder that "each of us is a part of something greater - something more consequential than party or political preference."

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20029574-503544.html?tag=stack


Mark Kelly watching the State of the Union in the hospital room of his wife, Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords.
(Credit: Office of U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords)

[Stumbler]

1. I'm sorry if this sounds insensitive,

But who gives a flying f#$% about a person's ability to watch television?

An unexpected thumbs-up? Tear-jerking.
Unexpected responsive emotions? Again, tear-jerking.
The ability to stand? Amazingly tear-provoking.

But the ability "to watch tv?"
Believe me, I want nothing more than for Mrs. Giffords to reclaim each and every part of her life to the best of her ability.
But seriously? Is that how we gauge medical recovery in this, "the most medically advanced" society on the Earth? By one's ability to focus on a colorful box?
*sigh*

My best wishes for you, Congresswoman. My thoughts are with you, with hope for your speedy recovery. If I prayed, I would have and would again for you.



(But for the rest of us, please; don't allow 'television' to become a standard by which we can evaluate one's progress.)

[EFerrari]

2. It means, she can relax a little because the danger is over.

That is progress.

[Downwinder]

3. It is very significant that she can pay attention to something for an hour.

[FarPoint]

4. Sorry you just don't get it.

Maybe you would benefit from self education on traumatic brain injury recovery progress. You indeed appear grossly insensitive as well as foolishly ignorant. I sense that was not your intent.

[Stumbler]

5. That's likely so.

I won't deny my own ignorance on the recovery process of traumatic brain injury. And you're correct, I did not intend to sound so ignorant. But if I recall correctly, I read last week that she was operating an Ipad for a short period, which sounds like greater progress than watching television for an hour.

By all means, I may be insensitive as well as ignorant, but I guess I just don't see television-viewing as such a high-mark on the road to recovery that it should be made into a headline.

[SkyDaddy7]

8. Well, I know personally all about severe TBIs and I will say...

watching TV was not good at all for my wife as she began to pull out of a 3 month long coma from a head on collision...It was far too much stimulation! If the TV was turned on she would go into a trance & you would lose all hope of communicating with her! And at that time communication was limited to simple yes/no questions that she answered by pointing at a small chart with abcs & yes or no on it. It was one of the most scariest thing I have ever witnessed! And her recovery took years! From learning how to swallow to walk she was like an infant that rapidly went through almost ever age level over a years time.

Of course it "SOUNDS" like Gabby is not in near as bad of shape as my wife was but brain injuries can be deceptively CRUEL! One day it appears one is progressing only to fall back & crush the hopes of everyone BRAVE ENOUGH to stick around! I just hope Gabby's husband is the kind of man that will be able to adjust to the new life of living with someone who has gone through this type of injury. The divorce rate is almost 100% when it happens to the women & not much lower when it happens to a man...People who have never been around for the recovery process have NO IDEA what family members have to go through & especially what the victim has to go through!

My wife had just graduated college 3 months prior to the wreck earning a four year degree in of all things Insurance & risk management...However, after the her long recovery her diploma was basically worthless because she had very little memory of ever going to school...Even so she applied to many places but no one wanted anything to do with someone who had not been working for 3yrs in her career field. So, she worked as a legal secretary (The job she worked while in school) for 7 yrs & was very depressed that she was never able to get a better job...Until my brother got on with the Federal Government & he told us she could apply for a job that required a 4yr degree regardless of what it was. She applied & went through the interview process & got hired! My wife has never been so happy since the wreck! Actually this was just under one year ago & being disabled actually worked to her advantage because the job opening was only open to the disabled or Veterans.

Sorry, for rambling on but I am so proud of my wife & her story!

I hope Gabby has an easier process to normalcy.

[rfranklin]

10. It's nice to hear that your wife finally found that job...

It sounds like she had a really tough time.

[SkyDaddy7]

14. Thanks! Yes it was very tough on everyone!

I know Gabby & her husband have some very dark & very hard times ahead of them as well. I wish them the best! I hope Gabby's husband can find the strength to stick with her! It sounds like she could be partially paralyzed on her right side. Not to mention what kind of cognitive disabilities she might have. Brain injuries can produce some very odd symptoms! When on hemisphere is damaged some people can only see half the world...Like for instance a person could have a plate full of food but they only eat the right side 7 someone will have to remind them to turn their plate so they can see & eat the food on the other side. And that is just one example of some very odd stories I witnessed or read about!

When my wife was just coming out of her coma her body would shake & she would bang her right arm on the bed rail so bad she had to be tied down...This got very bad when the TV was turned on but soon as the TV was shut off it would stop & she would be calm! The freakiest thing I have ever seen! Of course once we figured this out the TV was never turned on again until she had improved was able to handle it. Even then when the TV was on it could be very hard to get her attention. CRAZY!

I have so many extremely weird stories like that my wife & I can laugh about now!

[RantinRavin]

13. Wow,

Hopefully one day we can all be as perfect and knowledgeable as you are.

[madokie]

9. What an ass

[lunatica]

11. You don't sound insensitive. You are insensitive

Everyone who has had to care for a parent or relative with dementia knows the sad truth of what 'attention span' means. Obviously you don't get the connection because you saw the word 'tv' in there. Maybe you should worry about your attention span.

[LeftishBrit]

15. I think the important thing is not the TV as such, but the ability to pay attention for an hour

TV watching involves quite a lot of rather complex visual and auditory processing, and her ability to follow, at least to some extent, what's going on on TV is quite a hopeful sign for her ability to follow and understand what's happening around her in general.

[Stumbler]

16. Alright, obviously I've 'lost' this 'argument.'

I don't currently know, nor wish any of us to know-in-the-future anyone who's suffered these traumas. And for those already coping with such a situation, I can only apologize for my insensitivity.
I wanted only to offer my opinion on what appeared to me to be a superficially 'worthless' headline.
My sincere sympathies are offered to all involved, directly or indirectly.

[Posteritatis]

19. And there's some of that mature civility people are saying we need more of

:thumbsup:

:)

[saras]

6. Personally, I think it's damn hard.

I'm over 50 and going to college, I work at home, exercise daily, do home repair, read a lot..

I couldn't watch TV for an hour. That takes a sort of intestinal fortitude I just ain't got.

Glad to hear she's recovering.

[tclambert]

7. If she watched American Idol that might have been a negative sign.

Or Fox News.

[rfranklin]

12. It might lead to permanent damage...

as we have seen in so many other Americans.

[Travelman]

17. I must say...

At least compared to my experience with my mother and her severe brain trauma, Giffords seems to be making remarkably rapid progress. Mom was basically unconscious in ICU for about three weeks and not really ready to do anything like sit up, talk, stand, or even pay attention to something like an hour's worth of TV for several weeks after that.

Of course, every injury is different, and Mom's injury was fifteen years ago, so I'm sure there has been some progress in the treatment of brain injuries in the meantime, but this feels to me like very good news for Giffords. It just sounds like a relatively rapid recovery, for which I am certainly thankful.

[Posteritatis]

18. I know I'm not strong enough to watch an hour of TV these days... (nt)

[Demeter]

20. She's in Better Health Than I Am

or on much stronger drugs.