Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords upgraded to good condition

[cal04]

Source: KOLD

Late Breaking news from Houston, where doctors have upgraded Rep. Gabrielle Giffords from serious to good condition.

Doctors also say they have determined that she is ready to move to TIRR Memorial Hermann to begin rehabilitation. This is expected to happen on Wednesday, pending review of her medical condition early in the morning, according to a press release issued on Tuesday night.

We'll have more on this Late Breaking story Wednesday morning on KOLD News 13 beginning at 4:30 AM.

Read more: http://www.kold.com/Global/story.asp?S=13909096

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Giffords' condition upgraded; she's headed for rehab
Doctors say she's improved enough to move out of ICU, start next phase of recovery

(snip)
A news conference was planned for 3 p.m. local time Wednesday.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41266830/ns/us_news-life/

[tabatha]

1. Another link

http://culturemap.com/newsdetail/01-25-11-gabrielle-giffords-condition-upgraded-to-good-set-for-transfer-to-tirr-wednesday-morning/

[stevedeshazer]

2. +1

WOOOO!!!

[JudyM]

3. Woohoo! What great news.

Accelerated healing. Betting she got a bit of a boost from the SOTU.

[SomeGuyInEagan]

4. That is remarkable. Truly remarkable. n/t

[gateley]

5. Oh, excellent! I heard a snippet the other day about some brain swelling? I'm

happy it wasn't a setback. Go Gabby!

[nadinbrzezinski]

7. that is why they inserted the tube to drain it

(technical name shunt)

But to put it simply...



See the dura matter, et al, the outer layers. They are more flexible than the skull, but if you do not drain the liquid, it still can put pressure. they cannot leave that shunt in and take you into the world.

[gateley]

13. You slay me, nad! You have the answer to EVERYTHING -- with pics!

I missed that they inserted the "shunt" - but am thrilled to hear it was successful.

Her recovery thus far has been more than I'm sure anyone could have hoped for!

They said on one of the follow-up shows to the SOTU that Mark said she'd been able to watch TV for an hour (Oh, it was CNN where I saw it because they mentioned she was watching CNN). They explained that they were so excited because it showed she could concentrate/pay attention for an hour. :7

:hi:

[nadinbrzezinski]

20. As a medic I needed to know this shit

And these days pictures are on the web. By the way meningitis is the swelling of those membranes.

[gateley]

21. I never knew that about meningitis! Yikes! Always knew it was serious shit, but

I guess I kind of 'assumed' it was just a really bad infection.

ETA: It's not just medical areas where you're knowledgeable, nad. You know your history, politics, and other subjects I don't really remember!

[nadinbrzezinski]

22. I am really blushing now

[nadinbrzezinski]

6. This is remarkable

She will amaze all to the level of recovery.

[Ken Burch]

8. Has she been able to speak yet, by the way?

n/t.

[MrBig]

14. I don't believe so

The latest I've seen is the tracheostomy tube is still in there to help her breathe and she won't be able to talk as long as that's there. Her husband has said he believes she has made attempts to speak (opening her mouth, etc.)

They won't be able to find out if she will be able to speak again until the tube is taken out. Even if she speaks, it's unclear how much she will be able to say and how it will sound because the bullet went through the left side of her brain.

[progressoid]

9. Amazing!

[madmax]

10. What a gal. Best Wishes Gabby nt

[nyy1998]

11. Wonderful news! Keep it up Gabby!!!!

:woohoo:

[colsohlibgal]

12. Awesome!

Such welcome news, Gabby is quite the battler and hopefully this is just another step toward her walking back into congress this year. Hopefully she knows that she has millions of us who are pulling for her for all we're worth.

[Judi Lynn]

15. Such wonderful news. Who could ever have expected this, under these circumstances? n/t

[No Elephants]

16. For a patient, this is a very hard time. Wishing her very well.

[Blacksheep214]

17. YAY!!

:applause: :toast:

[cal04]

18. KOLD update: Gabrielle Giffords set to move to rehab

http://www.kold.com/Global/story.asp?S=13910226

Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords is almost ready to move onto the next phase of her recovery following a gunshot wound to the head.

Right now, crews at Memorial Hermann Hospital in Houston, Texas are preparing to move Giffords to the TIRR Rehabilitation Center where Giffords will undergo aggressive therapy.

Late last night, doctors upgraded Rep. Gabrielle Giffords from 'serious' to 'good' condition.

The ambulance that will transport Giffords is in an ambulance bay at Hermann Memorial at the moment. As soon as it starts to move, we will stream it live on kold.com. In the meantime, watch for updates on KOLD News 13 Live this Morning.

[pam4water]

19. So glad to hear this!

[cal04]

23. Giffords leaves ICU as condition improves

http://www.kold.com/Global/story.asp?S=13911913

- Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-AZ, has been moved out of intensive care and entered into her next phase of recovery.

Giffords' medical team upgraded her condition from serious to good Tuesday night, allowing her to transfer from neurotrauma intensive care unit at Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center to TIRR Memorial Hermann, where she will prepare for rehab.

(snip)
At a news conference after her arrival in Houston, Giffords' doctors said her transfer from University Medical Center (UMC) in Tucson was accomplished without incident.

At that time of her move, doctors described her as looking "spectacular" from a neurological point of view, and said that she had demonstrated great rehabilitation potential.