Teresa Heinz Kerry Discusses 'Miraculous' Recovery From Seizure
PITTSBURGH, Penn. (CBS) -- Teresa Heinz Kerry says she has made a "miraculous" recovery after doctors suspect an old concussion led to a seizure over the summer.
In July, Kerry was rushed to the hospital while vacationing with her husband Secretary of State John Kerry, on Nantucket.
She spent a few days in the intensive care unit at Massachusetts General Hospital before moving to Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital for almost three weeks. There, she says doctors told her she made a "miraculous" recovery.
In her first interview about her health, Kerry spoke to her hometown newspaper, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, about the challenges she faced to regain her balance and mental stamina.
Kerry told the paper the damage "after a bad concussion that was not properly treated at all ... from a very bad fall," four years ago led to the seizure.
According to research, it can take the brain 20 years to repair itself and as it heals, sometimes new circuits formed can lead to seizures.
Kerry continues to go to physical therapy in Washington and Boston and does brain exercises to sharpen her mind.
Kerry credits the computer app "Lumosity," for helping her recover as well as her background as a simultaneous interpreter, able to speak five languages.
But the seizure has curtailed her ability to travel alongside her husband.
John Kerry was sworn in back in February.
When asked by the paper whether she sees her husband much, she said no but she feels she is "doing it for the world" by letting him travel so much.
