‘It’s amazing, isn’t it?’Woman shows major signs of recovery after brain damage

Arkansas City Traveler ^ | May 11, 2005 | Foss Farrar

[BykrBayb]

‘It’s amazing, isn’t it?’

Tracy Gaskill shows major signs of recovery after critical accident in 2002

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By FOSS FARRAR, Arkansas City Traveler For nearly three years, Don and Stella Gaskill had hoped their severely injured granddaughter would talk again. Just recently, their prayers were answered.

On Sept. 3, 2002, Tracy Gaskill suffered critical internal and head injuries when her pickup overturned on its top. Doctors told her relatives that night that she probably would die by noon the next day, Don Gaskill said this morning.

“That accident scared us to death,” said Gaskill, who lives in rural Winfield. Tracy Gaskill also is from Winfield.

But through personalized care received at Medicalodge North in Arkansas City and the daily visits and prayers of the Gaskill family — as well as many others in the Cowley County community — Tracy survived and gradually got better, medical personnel say.

Then, about three weeks ago, she spoke for the first time since the accident, Don Gaskill said. About the same time, she began to swallow on her own.

“It’s amazing, isn’t it?” Dr. David Schmeidler said today. “I have never seen this happen in my career. I’ve read about it happening, the severely brain damaged recovering suddenly, but never seen it until now,” said Schmeidler, the medical director at the Medicalodge. He said he visited Tracy a few weeks ago and she greeted him, “Hi, Dr. Schmeidler.”

“She is actually able to speak and to speak coherently,” he said. “In light of all this stuff on Terri Schiavo — and I believe what was done in that case was wrong — it makes you pause and think. For three years or so, (Tracy) was fed through a tube, then she swallowed a little bit and now she speaks.”

Schiavo was the severely brain damaged woman who died March 31 after spending 15 years connected to a feeding tube. It finally was disconnected, after a bitter right-to-die dispute between her husband and her parents. The case went all the way to the White House and Congress.

But everyone involved in Tracy Gaskill’s care has been pulling for her to get better ever since her accident.

“It’s really quite amazing (that Tracy can speak),” said Lynda Marshall, a registered nurse who works at Medicalodge North. “After they’ve been without speech and the ability to eat that long, it’s very rare they’re able to come back.”

Marshall said Tracy will get speech therapy, continue working on improving cognitive functions and eat on her own.

“We’ve been assisting her with a feeding tube until yesterday,” she said.

Don Gaskill said he feels that without the personalized care his granddaughter has received at Medicalodge, she wouldn’t have made such an amazing recovery.

“In the last year and a half, she’s indicated that she knows us; she has been watching TV and smiling,” he said. “More recently, she started nodding her head when we asked her questions. Then a few months ago, she’d laugh out loud.”

In the last few months, nurses at the Medicalodge worked with her to get her to hum, he added. Finally, she started to speak clearly.

Asked by a reporter today how old she was, Tracy answered, “Twenty-nine. “You’re 30,” Don Gaskill corrected her. “Remember, you had another birthday.”

Tracy Gaskill was injured in 2002 when she lost control of her pickup truck as she was driving south on U.S. 77 just south of Strother Field, near the site of Cowley Cinema 8, according to the Cowley County Sheriff’s Department. The vehicle rolled over.

“We don’t know what caused it,” Don Gaskill said. “We weren’t at home at the time. One of (her) brothers who had heard from the sheriff’s office called us.”

Tracy was taken by ambulance to Strother Field, where a medical evacuation helicopter airlifted her to Wesley Medical Center. Tracy is a sister of Tyler Gaskill, a photographer and office staffer at the Winfield Courier. She has another brother, Shawn, a junior at Winfield High School.

She was in surgical intensive care for about a month at the Wichita hospital, Don Gaskill said, before she was moved into the Medicalodge in Arkansas City.

[Freedom Dignity n Honor]

I never accused you of being pro death.

I did point out though that just because this might have been going on for 30+ years, it doesn't make it right.

[texasflower]

You didn't accuse me of being pro-death. Sorry. I did a group ping, but that part didn't apply to you.

What I have been talking about is the same type of end of life issues. Sometimes, it is the person's written wish, sometimes (far too often) there is nothing in writing from the person and the next of kin makes these decisions. Most of the time these decisions are made out of love, but occasionally there is a situation like Terri's with a husband who simply finds her to be inconvenient.

Those cases that are decided by the next of kin are usually done out of love and truly based on the patient's condition and in line with the implied wishes of the patient.

You may not make that choice for one of your loved ones, but still it is done each and every day.

My own father made his choice just last year in October. He had his feeding tube withdrawn. It was his choice, but if he had not been able to voice that wish, say like due to a stroke or something, my mother would have made that decision for him, because they had talked about this before.

My dad had a living will, but even without that, my mother would have known what he wanted. I knew what he wanted as well. My children know what I want.

There is a picture of my dad with a brief story about his last day on my profile page, that most people find touching. If you get a chance, take a look please.

[Rose of Sharn]

Why have you posted this?

[antceecee]

CindyDawg,
Please accept my apology for posting this. I did not understand your comment:
"Yeah. What else can you say?" to BykrBabe.
In response, I posted my question and your bio.... this should have been done in a private message.
Not cool, I'm sorry.

[CindyDawg]

It was no big deal. It's there for anyone that wants to read it. I just wasn't sure why you posted it. If it was a flame,kudos to you though. I have been called all kinds of stuff. (the lowest was being called Al Gore by someone the other day (grin). I usually just ignore them but your post caught my attention. I just didn't know how to take it:')
I have long been a supporter of the disabled and started fighting for Terri about the 2nd time her tube was pulled. It took a lot of energy. I just meant that I keep fighting the fight but what more can I say that I haven't already.

[antceecee]

Completely understood - I think this sorry episode in the history of humanity has made me a little over-sensitive. I will be more careful in the future. I only wish that everyone could see the vital interest in protecting our weaker citizens. Sadly, this is not the case, hence my thin-skin on this issue. Thanks for fighting the GOOD fight CindyDawg.

[texasflower]

I'm still waiting to find out how long it took you to go back through over a year's worth of my posts.

I have over 10,000 posts and I simply can't imagine how long it must have taken you to do this. I get bored with trying to find things that are only a few days old, since I might average 50 posts daily. For you to do it seems surreal.

How long did this take you?

But more importantly, why did this matter so much to you?

[BykrBayb]

You attacked me for no reason. I didn't know who you were, or why you were attacking me. So I googled, and in no time, I saw all I needed to see. If I wanted to take some time, I'm sure I could find out more. If you didn't want anyone to read those posts, you shouldn't have put them up in the first place.

[texasflower]

Believe me my dear, I had a reason for "attacking" you as you put it.

You said something about a freeper that was not true. Don't lie about other freepers if you don't want to be called on it.

You posted something that was cruel and there was no basis for it.

That's kinda sick.

I'll call you or anyone on their lies, every single time I see one. That includes you.

You did not get the information you did by "googling". Get serious. You had to search the posts here on FR.

I just think it's pathetic that you felt the need to do that. Plus, you went back to something very specific and then worked forward from that.

I'd be very embarrassed if I were you.

Oh, and you misunderstood something. I don't have any problem with ANY of my posts. EVER. I post the truth for better or worse. I'm perfectly happy to have any of my posts scrutinized.

So drop the crap about me not wanting anyone to see them. Let me let you in on a little secret about me. I post for the express purpose of having people read them. How about that for a revolutionary idea?

My posts are just fine, but I do wonder about YOUR life, if you have the time to look over several thousand posts of a stranger. It makes me sad for you.

[Red Sea Swimmer]

Peace and Blessings to Tracy !

[BykrBayb]

Obviously, you don't know how google works, or you're just lying again. I'd ask which it is, but you lie so often I'm not sure you know the difference anymore.

I don't remember which keywords I used a few days ago, but here's an example of what I just found in about 30 seconds. http://www.google.com/search?q=++schindler+OR+schiavo+OR+terri+OR+euthanasia+%22by+texasflower%22&hl=en&lr=&as_qdr=all&filter=0

[texasflower]

I never lie, cupcake. Why are you so hung up on that word?

You stated that a fellow freeper was rejoicing over Terri's death. There was no basis for that at all. None.

You have made nasty remarks about me and insinuated things that are just not true. More than once.

My dear, I suggest you take a look at just who is lying here. (Here's a hint, it's one of us and it's not me..)

As far as the google crap goes, perhaps you got these posts from there, but that is just as hard to go through as searching posts here. You have to click on each link. You still went through over a year's worth of posts.

I will ask again...WHY? What is it to you and WHY in the world would you bother with something so silly, on the off chance that you would find posts that pertained to this?

You also had to go through another source, because some of my posts that you linked to don't have any sort of reference to it. Such as the "inflammatory" post "add me please". That could have been on any number of requests to be on a ping list.

WHY did this matter to you? While I am quite flattered that I meant so much to you, I would still like an answer.

Oh, and feel free to browse my posts anytime. Some of them are very interesting.

Oh, one last thing, don't bother to post anymore links. All I REALLY care about it the WHY. That is what you keep avoiding.

[BykrBayb]

I am not your dear or your cupcake. I don't swing that way. What you do is your own business, but please stop trying to include me.

I answered your question with the truth. I did not read every post you put up in the last year, and I never said I did. You are lying again. I'm not hung up on that word. You just keep lying. You are a chronic liar.

Your only reason for attacking me what your membership in the WPPFF, and my opposition to forced euthanasia.

I didn't lie, so there was no lie for you to call me on. You can appoint yourself thought police, but your version of reality isn't going to be accepted by any sane people, no matter how hard you try. I posted links to back up what I said. All you can supply are more false accusations, and complaints about the fact that I posted the links.

I'm not embarrassed that you posted your opinion, nor am I embarrassed that I outed you. When you go around lending support to murder, you should expect people to notice. That's not exactly normal behavior.

If you're so proud of the garbage you've posted, why are you so upset that people are reading it? If you didn't want anyone to see the thread where the WPPFF celebrated Terri's murder, you shouldn't have pushed the issue. You accused me of lying, and then got mad when I proved I was telling the truth. So drop the crap about wanting everyone to read your old posts. If you could erase your posts, and conceal your reason for changing your tune, you'd do it in a heartbeat.

You want to call somebody sick, take a look at your own posts. You used to know it was wrong to murder vulnerable people. What changed your mind? $omething tells me you still know it was wrong, but you're hoping you can convince everyone else it was right, to ease your conscience. You still haven't answered the question. What happened between September and November that caused you to stop supporting the right of disabled people to live? Did it involve an inheritance?

[texasflower]

You are one sick b****. First you insinuate that I am gay. Then you accuse me of supporting murder. Then you try to insinuate that I had someone murdered because of an inheritance?

Did you look at my homepage and see that my Dad just died you sick freak? Do you really think that's appropriate?

There is something seriously wrong with you. Not only are you a cyber stalker, you are a twisted freak.

[BykrBayb]

"Why, why, why?" You sound like a two year old. I've answered the question, and you keep saying "why?" That's just stupid. Once again, the reason is because you attacked me for no reason. I wanted to find out the reason, so I googled. It turned up an assortment of posts from you supporting Terri Schiavo and bashing Terri Schiavo. That didn't make any sense, until I looked at them in order, and discovered that when all of your father's treatments were ended and he died, you suddenly changed your mind and decided it was a good idea to euthanize people. That is sick!

[BykrBayb]

Your conscience is screaming. I suggest you listen to it, instead of trying to warp everyone else's.

[texasflower]

I do NOT support euthansia. Nothing in any of my posts would indicate that.

You are a sick twisted woman who really should get down on her knees and ask forgiveness for that nasty remark about my Dad's death.

You have a real problem. You are a hateful freak of a woman.

[BykrBayb]

Next time you feel like attacking someone for standing up for what's right, maybe you'll stop and think about it. I suggest you get therapy to deal with your issues, before you become any more irrational.

[texasflower]

You are a digusting pig of a woman.

[BykrBayb]

No, I merely exposed it. Your attitude did change, exactly when I said it did. You still haven't answered the question. You merely accused me of answering the question, when in fact, I was the one asking. What happened that caused you to stop posting in support of life, and start posting in support of euthanasia? Was it just coincidence that you did that when your father died, or did his death have something to do with it?