ABSTRACT
Knowledge of the recovery process is essential to any student of the health sciences; any clinician who deals with brain-damaged patients and their families will eventually be asked about the prognosis of the patient. How long will the patient take to recover? Will the patient be left with lasting handicap? Will they be able to return to work? These are just some of the questions put by anxious family members. Responses at this time should be cautious and some clinicians refrain from even using the word "recovery" (Lezak, 1995). Patients whose cases were originally considered hopeless and yet who go on and manage some intellectual achievement, such as passing a degree, regularly contribute to media stories entitled "My doctor said I would never recover."
