Good News From Tucson: Rep. Gabrielle Giffords Breathing Without Ventilator

Tragic as the story of last Saturday’s shootings in Tucson, Arizona undoubtedly is, the continued (and extremely rapid) recovery of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords is cause for celebration. The Congresswoman, who has opened her eyes and can follow simple verbal cues, no longer needs a ventilator to breathe.

Rep. Giffords, doctors report, marked the one-week milestone since she was shot in the head by undergoing a tracheotomy, a surgical procedure in which a breathing tube is inserted into the neck. This supplants the previously installed tube which would help her breathe with the aid of a ventilator. The successful tracheotomy marks yet another step forward in Giffords’ progress, and will allow doctors to assess whether she retains her speaking ability and, eventually, help her on her wait to eating properly and other functions which requires her throat to be free. She remains the only victim off the shooting in critical care.

The reports as to Giffords’ brain function are also extremely positive: she is now responding to commands such as clicking a ballpoint pen and removing her husband’s wedding ring from his hand when asked to.

A full health update on Giffords’ progress via Fox News below:

New: The Mediaite One-Sheet "Newsletter of Newsletters"
Your daily summary and analysis of what the many, many media newsletters are saying and reporting. Subscribe now!