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Congresswoman Giffords' office releases first photos from hospital room

Congresswoman Gabrielle Gifford's office released the first photos from her hospital room a the University of Arizona Medical Center.  Both pictures do not show Congresswoman Gifford's face for good reason.  Instead, the pictures show her husband, Mark Kelly, holding her hand as she fights to recover.  The photos can be seen in the slideshow to the left.  I have included other pictures from the story after the hospital photos.

Doctors continue to be very optimistic about Giffords' recovery.  Today the doctors were quoted as saying Giffords has a "101 percent" chance of surviving.  However, doctors are still not sure what the extent of recovery will be.  The encouraging news is that Giffords has been able to respond to commands by raising her fingers for example.  While this may seem like a simple task it actually requires a lot of brain function as the patient must hear the command, comprehend it, and respond with the motor function part of their brain.  Giffords still has a breathing tube in place for precautionary reasons in order to lessen the risk of pneumonia.  In addition, part of her skull has been removed to reduce the risks from swelling of the brain.  Eventually the breathing tube will be removed and the missing part of the Giffords' skull will be put back in place. 

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Doctors now believe that the bullet entered into Giffords' head through her forehead and then exited out the back.  The survival rate for this kind of wound is generally less than about 10%, but thankfully Giffords' seems to have fallen within that small minority.

, Political Buzz Examiner

Ryan Witt is a graduate of Washington University Law School in St. Louis and has extensive experience teaching government and politics. His articles have been cited by The Washington Post, NPR, Politics Daily, The Guardian, The Huffington Post, Media Matters, Daily Kos, and Think Progress among...

Comments

  • v 1 year ago

    Great to see her doing so well. It is amazing.

    Gun sales in Phoenix have gone up 60% since this shooting.
    Since they see their "sheriff" being more political than law enforcement, and they see the vile hateful attacks on them from the left in this country, and they feel as if they are being made by them to be culpable, they now see more need to protect themselves from the same ones accusing them.

    See where it got us Witt with all the baseless blame that started before the blood dried on the pavement?

    Now we see SOME backing off their hateful vile accusations.

  • Not V 1 year ago

    V - You said:

    "Now we see SOME backing off their hateful vile accusations"

    But start off by saying:

    "they see the vile hateful attacks on them from the left in this country"

    This is what is wrong in this country where either side accuses the other.

  • Yawn... 1 year ago

    Or perhaps gun sales are up because 1) people realize that had a single person at the even been legally carrying, they may have been able to stop this nutjob before so many were killed and injured and/or 2) people see the gun-grabbers using this as an excuse and are buying because they worry they may not be able to buy in the future.

  • Jeremy 1 year ago

    It's awesome that Honorable Rep. Gifford is doing so well in recovery. There needs to be stronger regulations on the purchasing of firearms though! If the regulations were more strict, the amount of tragic events such as the one in Arizona would diminish greatly. Guns are sold for self protection, but Laughner was never shot... What's the point of owning a gun? I live in Texas, and it is by far way too easy to obtain a firearm. In Texas, firearms aren't registered and people can buy firearms for other people. The only thing is that they conduct a background check but that is not enough. The possession of firearms needs to be reformed quickly.

  • Rich 1 year ago

    Jeremy, you have no idea about guns. so please do NOT comment on owning a gun. you don't need to be shot to need a gun. i would rather have a gun and not need it, then need one and not have it.

  • Yawn... 1 year ago

    In almost 40 years of legally carrying, i have pulled a gun exactly twice outside of military actions.

    In one case, I fired a round into the ground to get everyone's attention; in the other, I merely displayed it. In both cases, my action prevented further violence that almost certainly would have resulted in someone's death.

    Ask THOSE two if we need stricter gun laws, Jeremy.

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