lisab said:
I heard (on CNN, I think) the bullet only passed through just one hemisphere of her brain, and that improves her prognosis. Now she's been put into a coma until the swelling goes down...it's just wait and see at this point. Must be hell on her loved ones.
Edward has it, but I'd add that she can't open her eyes because it sounds as though her left orbit was shattered, that eye was nearly lost, and she's back in a medically induced coma.
A word about "recovery", and "prognosis" as I've heard it used here:
THERE IS NONE. Once someone has a bullet pass through their brain, you're dealing with:
-Initial wound track
-Fragments of bone acting lacerating the brain, driven by the bullet
-Secondary cavitation that only becomes evident upon necrosis of neurons many days or weeks later
-Swelling and the fear of herniation (why they removed a portion of her skull, in addition to protecting the brain)
-Infection... oh lord infection.
Then... for recovery, she's already ahead of the game, but if she lives AND wakes up again... I wouldn't be shocked anymore... this is one tough lady. I WOULD however be shocked if she doesn't spend the rest of her life severely disabled, should she ever regain primary mobility, if she wakes up... if she lives. This woman was shot, and the man who kept her alive on scene unfortunately had to apply pressure to the wound. I can't tell you how it makes me cringe to know the risk of infection as a result, and ANY time there's a catastrophic breach of the BBB.
It's also worth pointing out that she could wake up with slurred speech and right-sided weakness, which... would be the equivalent in my mind to a miracle. Once someone lives through this, it's waiting... waiting... and then if they recover... more waiting... a lifetime of putting the pieces back together.
re: Brady Bill comments: You mean, if she recovers she'd be a perfect advocate for a bill based on this (gun control or other), or that her astronaut husband would be a fairly sympathetic figure in her stead? Yeah... I think so too, because it doesn't matter what happned to who, or why... there's political hay to be made. *vomit*