After nearly losing his life, it’s amazing that broadcast journalist Bob Woodruff has maintained a sense of humor, purpose, familial obligation and the desire to continue working in his field.
Today, he is a grateful man on a mission.
“I feel lucky,” said the Bloomfield Hills, Mich., native, who is still recovering from the traumatic brain injury he suffered Jan. 29, 2006, when an explosive device hit the convoy he and his cameraman, Doug Vogt, were riding in while on assignment in Iraq.
On Monday, Woodruff held a press conference in New York to talk about his health and tonight’s documentary “To Iraq and Back: Bob Woodruff Reports.”
The ABC special combines Woodruff’s own chilling story with a rage-inducing investigation of military families dealing with the debilitating injuries of their loved ones with little to no help.
To plug the documentary, Woodruff also appeared today on ABC’s “Good Morning America” and “The Oprah Winfrey Show.”
“I saw what my family had to go through and it kills me,” Woodruff told reporters. “I’m lucky that it turned out a lot better than it could have, that makes me feel a little better. But that my wife and kids had to suffer is the worst thing that I could imagine.”
Although Woodruff’s story is full of sadness, it is also one of hope, as exhibited in his determination to be upbeat with reporters, emphasize his good fortune and anecdotally share his propensity to play soccer despite his wife’s wishes.
A number of doctors and even his colleagues agree that it is miraculous Woodruff is functioning as well as he is considering the extent of the injuries he sustained. Part of the left side of his skull was gone, destroyed beyond repair. The force of the explosion also shattered Woodruff’s right shoulder.
After a fast-acting team of doctors in Iraq stabilized his condition, Woodruff was transferred to Germany, where he remained in a medically induced coma for 36 days. In the documentary, his wife, Lee Woodruff, and other family members recount what it was like to sit in the German hospital while he was in the coma, and how doctors could provide only vague information about Woodruff’s condition. She said his questionable prognosis weighed on the family as days turned to weeks.
“When I walked around to (Bob’s) other side, the left side, that’s when I saw what just did not look like Bob,” she said in the piece.
From Germany, Woodruff was transferred to the Bethesda Naval Medical Center in Maryland. Following three weeks of intense physical rehabilitation, he was finally able to move on to private care in New York near his home, where his cognitive and physical recovery continued for months. He had to relearn the names of his loved ones, how to speak, read and write again. In New York, surgeons spent hours reconstructing the damaged portion of Woodruff’s skull out of plastic.
Woodruff’s post-Bethesda care served as a genesis for his report.
Thanks to private care, Woodruff said he was afforded a higher level of medical attention and dedication than that of U.S. military soldiers when they are discharged from the same hospital.
As Woodruff points out, of the 1.5 million soldiers who have served or are now serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, more than 150,000 of them could have a brain injury that may be undiagnosed and unrecognized by the U.S. Department of Defense.
The healing path has proven to be a triple helix for Woodruff, who still has trouble remembering names, is slightly blind in his right eye and can no longer fully lift his right arm.
“Was it difficult? No question about it. Were there a lot of tears? No question about it,” Woodruff said, adding that press conferences like the one he held keep him sharp. “Six months ago, I wouldn’t have been able to talk to you all.” ABC News president David Westin, who joined Woodruff during the press conference, fully supports Woodruff’s passionate return to work.
“Bob’s had an amazing spirit through all of this,” Westin said.
“His private care was extraordinary.” The documentary begins with Woodruff in Iraq shortly after he became co-anchor on “World News Tonight,” reporting on America’s efforts to hand over military responsibilities to the Iraqis. From there, producers unflinchingly recount Woodruff’s life-threatening injuries step by step and later, his intrepid desire to take the Department of Defense to task.
Although he may never return to the anchor desk, Woodruff’s undaunted determination has inspired his colleagues as well.
“Bob is in the newsroom every day, and it’s great to have him there,” said Charles Gibson during a phone interview in January. “He is an inspiration to all of us, and we’re lucky to have him around.”
