THE NEXT LIE COVER-UP ITEM......
Doctors: Lynch may never remember ambush
Army doctors deny she has amnesia
WASHINGTON (CNN) --Doctors treating rescued POW Jessica Lynch confirmed Thursday their patient does not remember the ambush in which she was taken prisoner or what happened immediately afterward.
Furthermore, a statement from Walter Reed Army Medical Center said, the doctors "believe the probability of her remembering any events during that time period is very low."
However, the statement took issue with what it called "inaccurate reports" that she has amnesia, saying those reports by various media outlets, including CNN, "have resulted in (Lynch) explaining to friends and family that she is OK and still the same Jessi."
"I don't want people to think I can't remember things," the statement quoted Lynch as saying.
"According to Lynch's doctors, she does not have amnesia," said the statement from Walter Reed Army Medical Center. "Instead, she has no recollection of any events that may have occurred from the start of the ambush until when she awoke in an Iraqi hospital."
Dorland's Illustrated Medical Dictionary lists several types of amnesia, including "localized" amnesia, which is "amnesia for events connected with a certain place, time or incident."
Asked for clarification, spokeswoman for the hospital said she could not elaborate on the doctors' statements.
Danger of 'coaxing memories'
Lynch and five fellow members of the Army's 507th Maintenance Company were taken prisoner March 23 outside the Iraqi town of Nasiriya. (Story of other survivors)
Lynch suffered wounds to her arm, foot, ankle, both legs, head and back in the ambush.
U.S. Special Forces, acting on intelligence information, led a team of Marines, Army Rangers, Navy SEALs, and airmen into the hospital to rescue Lynch on April 2.
Team members found the then-19-year-old supply clerk in a hospital room lying in a bed, covering her head with a sheet, authorities have said. (Full story)
The rescue came about after an Iraqi lawyer gave U.S. authorities information on Lynch's location including detailed maps of the hospital. The lawyer and his family have been brought to the United States and granted asylum. (Full story)
Iraqi doctors who treated her have disputed reports that they did not provide good care. (Full story)
One Pentagon source said authorities were hoping Lynch could recall details to help in their investigation of the ambush and capture, but some experts fear that could make things worse.
"Coaxing memories out of her is going to be a bad idea," said Dr. Susan Vaughan, a psychoanalyst and professor of clinical psychiatry at Columbia University, on CNN Tuesday.
"She might actually end up remembering things that aren't quite right or that aren't really true just under the pressure of having people question her about it," she added. "It may be a very good thing that she has memory loss for the events, and it may actually speed her physical recovery and her mental well being to never recover any memories."
Meanwhile, Lynch "continues to make steady progress" in her recovery, the hospital statement said, adding that there are no more surgeries or procedures planned for her recuperation.
"The consistent rate of her recovery has permitted her doctors to have her begin physical and occupational therapy," said the statement. Those sessions have recently increased to two times a day, it said.
When she's not working on her therapy, Lynch reads and writes e-mail, reads cards and letters from well-wishers, listens to music and watches television, the hospital said.
Lynch's parents remain with her as she continues her recovery. There's no date set for her release, the statement said.
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