Unless you have were under a rock last month, you know that Representative Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) is rehabilitating in a Texas hospital from a gunshot wound to the head. The bullet penetrated the left side of Gabby’s brain. There have been many questions regarding what type of deficits she may have and the type of rehabilitation she is experiencing. Having suffered a left lobe brain injury myself, I thought I’d shed some insights as to what she may be experiencing.

When I woke up from my coma, the doctors had to see how my brain processed commands. I was asked to squeeze a stuffed bunny’s tail, just as Gabby is asked to squeeze hands. The doctors also had to see how I was speaking and if what I said made sense. Gabby has been able to do this as well with identifying that she asked for toast last week. She also told her astronaut brother-in-law on the phone that she was "good". The ability to express words is a key indication of how the brain is processing information. I needed to hear the command, then process it, and send the message down the nerves to my muscles. This was particularly difficult for me when I had temporary paralysis on my body’s right side from my left lobe injury. But, the brain and nervous system recovered and rewired well enough to allow me to function at a near normal level.

One of the problems that I had was recalling words. The left side of the brain deals with language, speech, understanding, and right side extremity movement. I had difficulty, at first, to be able to recall words and names. I knew in my brain that I had the previously learned the word, but had difficulty retrieving it. Have you ever heard the phrase, "It’s on the tip of my tongue?" That was the way with me. I couldn’t recall simple words, so what I did was describe what I was trying to convey if the word didn’t come to me right away. It hasn’t been shared how Gabby is doing in her speech and occupational therapies, but if she is like me (and I think she is), she is doing great.

Next, with my right side weakness, the therapists had to work on getting it moving again. They watched my gate when I walked to see how steady it was. I pushed shopping carts with a posey (a type of belt that the therapist could hold on to) around my waist. I sat on a big exercise ball to work on my balance, as I was like a wet noodle and couldn’t keep myself from falling over. I lifted minimal amounts of weights using a pulley system to strengthen my arms. From what I understand, Gabby is doing most of the same things in her rehabilitation, as well.

It can be a long road to recovery, but Gabby appears to be doing the right things in her therapy to speed up the curve. She is making remarkable progress in her rehab, and I attribute much of this to prayer and support from family and friends. I will be continuing to monitor her progress and provide additional insight into understanding what she may be experiencing in my blog.

I hope this information helps you understand more about brain injury and the rehabilitation process that many of us experience. I can only hope and pray that others receive the same rehabilitation experience that I have and Gabby is experiencing. Until next time…be your best always.

Darcy