Wife of legendary TV anchor explains why ‘we don’t [always] have the script in our hands’

Wife, mother and author Lee Woodruff came to McGuire Hall last Tuesday where she told of her husbands, ABC correspondent Bob Woodruff, traumatic brain injury and the struggles and triumphs that followed the dramatic event in her life. He was hit by a roadside bomb in Iraq, five weeks after he had started working a dual-anchor position, where one reporter is in the field and one is in the studio. Lee emphasized that, because he sustained this injury, Bob, being a public figure, was able to become a pulpit to tell people about [brain injuries].

Lee Woodruff explained that what happened to her husband is something that happens to soldiers each day. She said that his type of injury can often be seen as invisible, and that outsiders may not realize the trauma the soldier or bystander may have experienced. Lee often visits military hospitals to show how dedicated she is to those individuals suffering a brain injury from overseas.

Lee and Bob had been married for 18 years when the explosion happened. She said, I believe there was a hand of God there that made sure the bomb didnt hit further in. She explained that everyone in the family felt the explosion. She provided a detailed account of her husbands injury, treatment and recovery. Because the bomb was packed with rocks and dirt and not glass like many other bombs, the explosion did not cause as severe of injuries. However, Bob had rocks and dirt embedded into his face.

The left side of his skull was damagedthe part that controls much of your speech and language. Lee described this part of the brain as valuable real estate, because it controls your breathing, eating and sleeping. A portion of Bobs skull (16 centimeters) had to be removed during surgery.

Bob was in a medically induced coma for 36 days, and Lee described the moment he came out of the coma to be the most joyous event of her life. Bob woke up very loving, she said. The human bodys ability to heal is extraordinary. His recovery had a 50 percent improvement with things flooding in, but its effects are ongoing. Lee realized that neurons grow a little each day and that brain neuroplasticity is a reality. Moving forward in rehab was the most difficult. Energy and stamina goes away when youre watching and waiting for a recovery.

This lack of energy and stamina transpired to Lee, as Bobs caretaker. She said, though, that it is easy to take the caretaker out of the equation. Caretaker burnout can happen and it can lead to a mental illness, which, Lee said, doesnt have to be a dirty word. Depression happens to real people, and caretakers are no exception. Lee stressed that they do need to ask for help and that those around them must understand how important it is to talk to people in these situations. She said, empathize, dont sympathize, and reassure them that although this really stinks...Im here for you.

Doctors speak a foreign language sometimes. When Lee Woodruff found out what had happened to her husband, she couldnt even process it. She was completely in denial, so she knew that she wanted to accept all the information on her own terms. She didnt ask the doctors anything, because she was never going to sleep if she went on Google and go on a worse-case scenario hunt. She wanted to wait until he woke up, so she let other people absorb it. She said how she had a filter over her brain and would take things in as they came in, when she was ready for them.

The world shrunk down to only the important things after Bobs injury. Expectations are low, so you become grateful for everything, said Lee. Her number one priority became Bob.

The doctors were trying to prepare her for the moment that something bad would happen, but Lee said that you cannot beat the hope out of someone in the beginning. Humans come to terms slowly, and doctors should understand this. Being set up with [this] diminished hope takes away all possibility for looking ahead positively. Emphasis is care, not cure, because there are hopeless situations, Lee said. Success of the victim depends on the attitude of caretaker. To deal with this, Lee followed the four legs of her stool to help her get by: faith, family, friends, fun. She also strongly believed that laughter was the best medicine.

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Wife of legendary TV anchor explains why ‘we don’t [always] have the script in our hands’