The prognosis has improved for the woman brutally attacked by a chimpanzee, as Cleveland Clinic doctors met with her family Monday to discuss a series of reconstructive surgeries in the next two years.
The Clinic last month said Charla Nash suffered brain damage, and her chances of recovery were in doubt. But on Tuesday the Clinic said in a statement that Nash, 55, is awake and talking to her family and hospital staff.
The Clinic did not elaborate on why her medical status has changed so dramatically.
Nash was flown to Cleveland in February, after a friend's 200-pound chimp mauled her in Stamford, Conn. She lost her hands, nose, upper and lower lips, eyelids and the bony structures in her midface in the attack. She is blind.
The Clinic's prepared state ment said Nash has been awake 10 days, and that re pairing her face will be the first step in surgical recon struction. The hospital, which performed the first human face transplant in the United States in December, said consideration of a face transplant is premature.
Family lawyer William Monaco of Hauppauge, N.Y., told The Plain Dealer that Nash has made incremental progress daily.
"Their belief is she'll survive," said Monaco. "She's able to respond to very minor commands. She's said a few words. She recognizes to some extent the folks who are there."
The Nash family last month filed a $50 million civil suit against the chimp's owner, Sandra Herold.
Nash's brothers, Stephen and Michael Nash, appeared on NBC's "Today" show from Cleveland Tuesday morning.
Stephen Nash told the morning show, "The psychiatrist said she understands a lot about her injuries, but she's not interested at this time to find out how they occurred."
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