Artists Seeking Help for One of Area's Best-Known Muses

A group of local artists will soon come together to assist a North Hampton woman whose story has inspired countless Seacoast residents.

Locally-produced art of a variety of styles and mediums will be auctioned off during a special Annie's Angels benefit night Friday at The Victoria Inn in honor of Myla Gott's continued recovery from the traumatic brain injury she suffered during a car crash in January 2009.

Gott, 23, a 2011 graduate of Winnacunnet High School and an aspiring lawyer, has been able to make large strides in recent years thanks to specialized and costly hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) treatments. 

Initially confined to a wheelchair with limited motor function and the inability to speak, Gott has steadily regained limb and appendage movement, the ability to feed and wash herself, the ability to use a speaking device to communicate, and the ability to balance herself while standing and walking with assistance, among many other things — including the ability to paint, dance and do yoga.

Her cognitive ability, memory and overall quality of life have also improved, and she "is starting to utter a few words on a momentary basis," according to her father, Bill Gott.

Bill Gott said his daughter is "blessed" that Annie's Angels and local artists want to help by hosting Friday's event, which is from 5 to 8 p.m. at 430 High St., because the HBOT costs are difficult for him to cover.

"I dream of her being the example of brain injury recovery for others to follow," said Bill Gott, who is paying out of pocket for HBOT — which studies show has proven to be successful — because insurance doesn't cover the treatment. 

Bill Gott estimates Myla still needs between 200 and 300 additional HBOT sessions before she can make enough gains to "be her own guardian and go on to college to obtain a future productive life."

"[Her improvements thanks to HBOT are] phenomenal if you really look at the person I started with in January 2009 that was supposed to be a vegetable," said Bill Gott in a previous interview with Patch. "All these little gains to lot of people would mean nothing, but to me they’re moving toward bigger gains... To me it means so much because they're movements toward being a better person. They're gains that are making her a more productive individual."  

Doctors and medical personnel have supported Bill Gott's claims about his daughter's improvements, and they have said signs indicate that further treatments will only continue that progress.

"Ms. Gott has been under my care for neurological consequences of severe traumatic brain injury," said Dr. James Whitlock, Myla Gott's neurologist, in a statement. "During the interim since our last encounter, there appears to have been improvement in motor control in all extremities. It is my understanding that the only new intervention during this period has been exposure to over 80 hyperbaric oxygen therapy sessions.

"I think that it would be reasonable to attribute her progress to either the hyperbaric oxygen therapy or some activity associated with it (eg. Exercise/practice) or a combination of both."

More information about Friday's event can be found here.

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

Donations to Myla's recovery can be made here, or by giving money to the Gott Recovery Fund at The Provident Bank (321 Lafayette Road, Hampton, NH 03842; Tel No. 603-758-6323). All donations will go toward providing additional therapies for Myla during her recovery from her traumatic brain injury.