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Staff Blog: Television At Its Best
by Matt Smith
Every now and then there will come along a show or a piece on television that is all powerful. Case in point, last night ABC News aired the documentary "To Iraq and Back". It was a hard hitting report that detailed the human cost of war. You see, on January 29, 2006, journalist Bob Woodruff's life was forever changed when he became the victim of a roadside I.E.D. attack while covering the war in Iraq.
It was during that split second that he suffered traumatic brain injury. His story is heartbreakingly tender, and it wasn't just his story either, but the many countless soldiers who have suffered traumatic brain injury as well. It is a journey that I cannot possibly imagine. And for an hour last night, the world was a better place. No Anna Nicole, no Britney Spears, no Bobby Brown in jail because he can't pay child support payments on time. Yes, a story was honestly told that perhaps, maybe, just maybe, will affect some people for the better.
Two moments that stuck out in my mind from the broadcast the most: the first moment being where Woodruff is lying in bed with his children and they are helping him re-learn words. Words that we consider "simple". There his kids were, helping him to pronounce the words "eyeball" and "belt buckle", over and over again until they were successful, completed with a couple high five's celebrating their shared feat.
Things are put into perspective pretty quickly when you see a moment like that. The second moment that stood out was when Woodruff's wife took him back to the very bed where for months his outcome was unknown. Overcome with emotion, as he looked at the empty hospital bed, he began to cry and his wife's tears soon followed. Softly she whispers to him "But you made it." and you see an embrace that'll leave you in tears.
(For those of you who missed this last night and are interested in watching the broadcast in its entirety and want to totally blow off the remainder of the work day, you can do so online at abcnews.com at the very top of the page, you'll see it advertised. Just click on the image and you should be in business.)
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