WINNETKA, Ill. -- Melissa Brady, the 18-year-old daughter of presidential news secretary James Brady, may have been the single most important factor in her father's recovery, the girl's mother said Friday.
Sue Camins, 39, Melissa's mother and Brady's first wife, said her daughter, a forestry student at Colorado State Unversity, would pound on Brady's chest and scream 'Hi, Dad!' to get his attention shortly after the March 30 assassination attempt.
In turn, Brady would squeeze Melissa's hand and tell her he understood she was there.
'When you saw him, just looking at him Missy and I both knew he would be fine,' Mrs. Camins said. 'You had this feeling from looking at him. He looked so much better than we expected.'
Brady suffered a gunshot wound to the brain in last week's attack on President Reagan. Doctors, who initially gave Brady only a one in 10 chance of surviving, now say he probably will suffer no permanent mental impairment.
Melissa's stepfather, Harvey Camins, said Melissa 'was the best therapy that Jim could ever have.'
