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Title: Rep. Gabrielle Giffords Moves Arms, Survival Odds At '101 Pct'
Source:
Associated Press
URL Source: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/storie ... AULT&CTIME=2011-01-11-18-32-01
Published: Jan 11, 2011
Author: Associated Press
Post Date: 2011-01-11 18:56:28 by Brian S
Keywords: None
Views: 4040
Comments: 5
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) -- One of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords' doctors declared Tuesday she has "a 101 percent chance of surviving," as she made more progress, moving both arms and breathing on her own for the first time - just three days after a bullet shot through her brain. Doctors emphasize she is in for a long recovery, and her neurosurgeon repeated his cautionary phrase of "she's holding her own." But there was no denying what was clearly good news. Giffords, a three-time Democrat, remains in critical condition at Tucson's University Medical Center where she was operated on Saturday after being shot during a meeting with constituents outside a Safeway supermarket. The attack killed six and injured 14 others. Six remained hospitalized. Doctors previously reported Giffords raised two fingers of her left hand and gave a thumbs-up when responding to verbal commands. Now they say she is moving her arms. Although her condition has remained virtually unchanged the past few days, doctors were hopeful. "She has a 101 percent chance of surviving," said trauma chief Dr. Peter Rhee said. "She will not die. She does not have that permission from me." And while she can breathe on her own, Giffords still has a breathing tube in place as a precaution, said her neurosurgeon Dr. Michael Lemole. In their briefing Tuesday, doctors also reversed themselves in describing the path of the bullet. They now believe she was shot on the left side of the forehead, with the bullet exiting the back. They previously thought she had been shot in the back of the head. They came to the new conclusion after reviewing X-rays and brain scans and consulting with two outside physicians with experience treating combat victims who were brought in on Monday. Giffords is lucky the bullet did not cross into both sides, or hemispheres, of the brain, which can leave lasting damage, her doctors have said. As doctors continued to monitor Giffords' recovery, details emerged about the care she received when she was rushed by ambulance to the hospital. Trauma surgeon Dr. Randall Friese was the first to treat Giffords. "I immediately went over to her bedside and began to coordinate her care," he said. That meant going through a checklist much like what a pilot would do before taking off. Doctors checked to make sure there weren't any other bullet wounds, put in a breathing tube and assessed her mental state. Despite not knowing if Giffords could hear him, Friese said he took her hand and told her that she was in the hospital and that doctors would take care of her. "Then I said, 'Squeeze my hand, Mrs. Giffords.' And she did," recalled Friese. He asked her several more times to press his hand and she responded.
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#1. To: Brian S (#0)
The most encouraging piece I've seen, thanks, this is great news. I am glad her prognosis keeps getting better. But I will always be heart broken about Christina Taylor's murder. I saw the interview with her parents and saw how grieved they are. It was hard to take.
I don't know how they are able to reasonably maintain their composure during these interviews. I know I certainly would not be able to.
Never swear "allegiance" to anything other than the 'right to change your mind'!
I was watching the interview with one of the people who disarmed the terrorist and he mentioned that he had seen this girl shot and killed and that his immediate thoughts as he held the guys arm and had his hand on the guy's throat that he just wanted to see Loughner die and die painfully. I can empathize with this. Here is how that death affected the woman who had brought the girl there: .."She's calling out ... 'Christina, Christina! let's get out of here! Let's get out of here," said Bill Hileman, whose wife, Susan, was shot three times in deadly rampage outside a Tucson supermarket. His wife was having "flashbacks" to the shooting during moments of transition between sleep and waking, said Hileman during a news conference at Tucson's University Medical Center on Tuesday, at which the relatives of the dead and wounded joined medical staff to tell their stories. Hileman said his wife also suffered a broken hip during Saturday's shooting. Susan Hileman had taken Christina Taylor-Green, a neighbor whom she considered a grandchild, to a political gathering to meet Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz. Christina Taylor-Green was a newly elected member of the student council at Mesa Verde Elementary School in Tucson. Hileman's voice wavered as he struggled to describe how he told his wife that the girl had died. He said that as soon as his wife had a tube removed, allowing her to talk, she asked about the girl. "She grabbed my hand and looked in my eyes and said, 'What about Christina?'" he said. Christina was the youngest of six slain. Among the dead were also a federal judge and a congressional aide to Giffords." (More at URL) http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41026260/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/
This alleged doctor sounds insane. Is he related to the shooter, or the Sheriff? Has anyone seen his medical degree? Done a head count in the psych ward? It's time to bring in some competent help to resolve these issues, Dr. Orly Taitz.
This is really so sad. America is being primed for some kind of miracle recovery. Where the actual reality is the exact same as the 'Low Kill, Higher Injury' rate in Iraq/afghans becasue of 'quick med care.' Who wants to live with 1/2 a brain and 3 of 4 extremities blown off. As I've thought from the beginning with the 'successful/positive' Meme being thrown around by the Med Center: "I can't think of any part of my brain being optional' and that bullet traversed her brain from back to front. Point blank.
#2. To: Ferret Mike (#1)
I saw the interview with her parents and saw how grieved they are. It was hard to take.
#3. To: Brian S (#2)
"TUCSON, Arizona — An Arizona woman who tried to save the slain 9-year-old girl from a gunman's rage was reliving the horror from her hospital room, her husband said Tuesday.
#4. To: Brian S (#0)
(Edited)
Dr. Peter Rhee said. "She will not die. She does not have that permission from me."
#5. To: Brian S (#0)
(Edited)
"She has a 101 percent chance of surviving," said trauma chief Dr. Peter Rhee said. "She will not die. She does not have that permission from me."
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