The Malaysian Insider :: Features

Wounded US congresswoman discharged from hospital

Posted: 15 Jun 2011 09:22 PM PDT

Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords smiles next to her mother Gloria Giffords, in a photo taken June 12, 2011, at TIRR Memorial Hermann Hospital in Houston. — Reuters/SouthwestPhotoBank.com pic

HOUSTON, June 16 — Gabrielle Giffords, the US congresswoman who was shot in the head by a gunman in January, was discharged yesterday from the Houston hospital where she had been recovering from her severe wounds, the hospital said.

TIRR Memorial Hermann Hospital said in a statement that Giffords, 41, would soon begin outpatient treatment at the same facility. The Arizona Democrat's cognitive abilities and physical strength had improved, it said.

"Congresswoman Giffords has shown clear, continuous improvement from the moment she arrived at TIRR five months ago," said Dr Gerard Francisco, the hospital's chief medical officer.

"We are very excited that she has reached the next phase of her rehabilitation and can begin outpatient treatment. We have no doubt that she will continue to make significant strides in her recovery."

Giffords was shot in the head at close range by a gunman who opened fire at her and a crowd of bystanders at a political event on January 8 outside a supermarket in Tucson, Arizona. Twelve other people were wounded, and six were killed, including a federal judge, a young girl and one of Giffords' aides.

The 22-year-old man charged with the shooting, Jared Loughner, was recently declared mentally incompetent to stand trial and last month was sent back to a Missouri hospital for federal prisoners.

Giffords spent the first three weeks after the shooting hospitalised in Tucson, then was transferred to TIRR Memorial Hermann in Houston on January 21 to begin rehabilitation.

Giffords spokesman C.J. Karamargin told Reuters on Sunday that her abilities were improving weekly and that discussions were under way for Giffords to resume more active duties with her congressional office.

On Sunday, the first photos of Giffords since she was shot were released on her Facebook page. The photographs, taken the day before Giffords had cranioplasty surgery and the day after the launch of the Endeavour space shuttle mission commanded by her husband, astronaut Mark Kelly, showed a smiling Giffords with short hair, a scar on her throat from her tracheotomy, and a slight indentation to her left temple, where a piece of her skull was removed. — Reuters

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Khamis, 16 Jun 2011

The Malaysian Insider :: Features

The Malaysian Insider :: Features

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