AP, so a summary: Rep. Giffords is improving, thank goodness. She remains in critical condition but can raise her left hand, give a thumbs up, and otherwise respond to commands. The trauma surgeon and neurosurgeon are hopeful.
She had a hemicraniotomy to deal with brain swelling. Essentially, that is removing a large part of the skull and setting it to one side (scalp and other tissues remain attached). The bullet traveled the length of the left side of her brain, entering the back of the skull and exiting the front, so that's the part of the skull they removed. Edema and swelling remain issues for the next several days.
It is not clear what residual disability she'll have when all this is over.
The other shooting victims who made it to the hospital are improving. |
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