Thanks. The report should be in soon. The prayers and good wishes help everyone. Especially the fine men and women in uniform that deal with it every day.
JAN SLIVA, Associated Press Writer
LANDSTUHL, Germany - ABC News anchor Bob Woodruff and cameraman Doug Vogt were showing signs of improvement Monday after being seriously injured in a roadside bombing in Iraq.
Woodruff briefly opened his eyes and responded to stimuli to his hands and feet, the network said. The two were expected to return Tuesday to the United States, where they would be treated at the brain injury center of the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md.
Woodruff and Vogt were flown to a military hospital in Germany on Monday. "They are showing early signs of reaction, signs of slow improvement," Marie Shaw, a spokeswoman for Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, told The Associated Press late Monday.
Col. Bryan Gamble, commander of the medical center, described Woodruff and Vogt as "very seriously injured, but stable," with injuries "typical of victims of improvised explosive devices." Gamble said their body armor likely saved them.
The anchor's brother was optimistic. "Having seen him, we think he's going to recover eventually," Dave Woodruff told ABC News. "It's going to be a long road, but he's a strong guy, and he's going to make it.
It was not immediately clear whether shrapnel had penetrated Woodruff's brain or if he was suffering from a concussive injury, said the former NBC News anchor Tom Brokaw, a Woodruff family friend.
"The doctors had told them once they arrived that the brain swelling had gone down. In Bob's case, that had been a big concern. Yesterday they had to operate and remove part of the skull cap to relieve some of the swelling," Brokaw said on NBC'S "Today" show.
Vogt was filming a standup report with Woodruff and both were standing in the open hatch of an Iraqi military vehicle Sunday when a bomb went off. Vogt's injuries were less serious and he was talking and joking with colleagues on Monday, ABC said.
Woodruff also had a broken collarbone and broken ribs, Brokaw said.
"We have a long way to go. But it appears that we may have also come some distance from yesterday," ABC News President David Westin said in a letter to employees.
It can take days or weeks to discern the long term consequences of a traumatic brain injury, said Dr. Maurizio Miglietta, chief of surgical critical care at the New York University Medical Center/Bellevue, who was not involved in the men's treatment.
Landstuhl is the U.S. military's largest overseas hospital and has been the military's main care facility for Europe and the Middle East for more than half a century.