Brain Injury Survivor Asking for One Thing This Christmas

During a season filled with holiday miracles and heartwarming gestures, a local woman fighting a long battle back from a traumatic brain injury is only hoping for one gift under her Christmas tree.

More progress.

Myla Gott, a 22-year-old North Hampton woman who suffered a diffuse axonal brain injury during a traumatic car crash in 2009, has reportedly asked to begin another round of hyperbaric oxygen therapy treatments, which has already contributed to significant-yet-slow improvements in Gott's condition and has been scientifically shown to treat a variety of brain injuries.

Myla's father, Bill, said Myla has asked for her next round of costly HBOT treatments to be at a facility in New Orleans, La. — a facility Bill said is "the best in the USA." With the added airfare costs, the treatments are out of the price range for a family already strapped for cash, although Bill said he's determined to find a way to make the treatments happen because they "will make the best Christmas present for her."

"Myla wants that more then [sic] anything this Christmas," said Bill Gott in a Facebook message.

The first round of HBOT was conducted in Massachusetts earlier this year, and was made possible through generous donations from locals and businesses like the 401 Tavern.

Bill Gott said he's hoping more help will come for his daughter this holiday season, even if it's just a few dollars from a community that has been widely supportive thus far.

Myla Gott recently returned to her pre-crash weight now that she's able to eat three meals a day without the use of a feeding tube, and her father said she's made additional gains in her overall alertness and communication. The latter has been aided by continued use of a neurofeedback machine, as well as a talking device Myla uses to communicate with physical therapists and her family.

Bill Gott said his daughter also asks to walk two times a day, which is a stark difference in mobility from even a year ago.

More information about Gott and updates about her recovery can be found on this special Facebook page.

Donations can be made to "Gott Recovery" at the Hampton Provident Bank location.