Gifford's condition

I saw in a news conference today she tried to get to her breathing tube, she was taking breaths on her own and gave the doctors a "thumbs up" sign.

Sounds like she is quite a scrapper!
 
I saw in a news conference today she tried to get to her breathing tube, she was taking breaths on her own and gave the doctors a "thumbs up" sign.

Sounds like she is quite a scrapper!
Yes...praise God for that.
 
Reporting from Tucson and Los Angeles —
Rep. Gabrielle Giffords continued to show signs of recovery with "spontaneous movements" such as feeling her wounds and adjusting her hospital gown, Dr. Peter Rhee, head of trauma at University Medical Center in Tucson, said in an interview Wednesday.

"She's getting better every day, and she's making more and more spontaneous movements," he said. "She was able to actually even feel her wounds herself. She can fix her gown. She's making very specific kinds of movements, so we're very happy at this point."

Such movements are occurring, in part, because physicians have greatly decreased the amount of sedation Giffords is receiving.

Rhee, who has typically gone into great detail about the congresswoman's condition, was tight-lipped Wednesday, declining to reveal additional information about Giffords' condition. And he continued to urge caution, noting that the next two days remain crucial.

"Every day from now until the weekend is the time, if something was going to go bad, it would happen around this time period," he said.

Rhee said he was hopeful that Giffords would one day walk and talk normally, but he could not guarantee it. The congresswoman could have some "deficit" from the bullet that tore through the left hemisphere of her brain, but it's unknown how severe it would be.

That hemisphere controls the right side of her body and is the center of speech functions. Physicians have been unable to assess her ability to speak because they have kept her intubated — even though she can breathe on her own — in order to prevent the buildup of fluids in her lung that could cause pneumonia.

"There is without a doubt some permanent damage that's going to occur from that bullet that has gone through it," he said. "Will she be functional, viable, normal? I can't say for sure, but I'm very hopeful that she will be."

Giffords remains in critical condition. Five other victims from Saturday's rampage remain hospitalized at University Medical Center, with two in serious condition and three in fair. One, Ron Barber, was upgraded to serious status on Tuesday because he was put on a ventilator following surgery to close wounds from an earlier surgery.

Gabrielle Giffords' condition: Gabrielle Giffords showing more signs of improvement, doctor says - latimes.com
 
The congresswoman sounds pretty exceptional!!! I don't think most people with similar injuries do this well so quickly after the incident. Her doctors seem very surprised. Good for her!!!
 
In a key turning point for her recuperation, the congresswoman is to be moved on Friday from the University Medical Center in Tucson, where she has been hospitalized since the shooting, to a special rehabilitation facility in Houston, Texas.



At a news conference earlier in the day, doctors said she had come a long way in a short time given the severity of her injury.

"She is beginning to stand with assistance, she is scrolling through an iPad -- these are all fantastic advances for her. They do show higher cognitive function," Dr. Michael Lemole, chief of neurology at UMC told reporters.

"But I do want to caution ... that she has a long road ahead of her," he added.

Giffords taken outside for first time | Reuters
 

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