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Sojourners…
Doctor: Transfer of
Giffords to Houston flawless
By Marilynn Marchione and Susan Montoya Bryan, Associated Press
HOUSTON – Rep. Gabrielle Giffords smiled inside an ambulance as she
heard applause during a dramatic send-off from her hometown Friday, and
doctors say her transfer by jet and helicopter to a hospital in Houston
went flawlessly.
Throngs of sign-carrying well-wishers lined the streets in Tucson to
wave and cheer.
“She responded very well to that — smiling and even tearing a little
bit,” said Dr. Randall Friese, a surgeon at the University Medical
Center trauma center in Tucson. “It was very emotional and very
special.”
Friese and Giffords’ doctors in Houston spoke Friday afternoon at a
news conference at Texas Medical Center. Doctors say Giffords has a
drain in her brain because of a fluid buildup, so she will stay for now
in the ICU because of the risk of infection. Parts of her skull were
removed after she was shot in the forehead, and they have not yet been
replaced, so Giffords is wearing a specially made helmet to protect her
brain.
It will be at least next week before she is moved to the center’s TIRR
Memorial Hermann rehabilitation hospital, and she faces months of
rigorous therapy.
Doctors say she’ll have her first rehab session in the ICU Friday
afternoon.
“She looks spectacular,” said Dr. Dong Kim, neurosurgery chief at
UTHealth.
A gunman shot Giffords and 18 other people Jan. 8 as she met with
constituents outside a grocery store in Tucson. Six people died; all
other survivors have been released from the hospital. The suspect in
the attack, Jared Loughner, 22, of Tucson, is being held in federal
custody.
Giffords has been making progress nearly every day at University
Medical Center in Tucson. Her husband, Houston-based astronaut Mark
Kelly, tweeted Friday: “GG going to next phase of her recover today.
Very grateful to the docs and nurses at UMC, Tucson PD, Sheriffs
Dept....Back in Tucson ASAP!”
Kelly traveled with Giffords, along with her mother, a doctor and other
medical workers. She napped as a specially outfitted jet took her to
Houston, then a helicopter took her from the Houston airport to the ICU
at Texas Medical Center, where she’ll be evaluated before going to the
center’s rehabilitation hospital, TIRR Memorial Hermann. U.S. Capitol
police arrived Thursday afternoon to set up extra security measures at
the 119-bed facility.
Despite the steady progress, doctors warn Giffords has a long road to
recovery. Doctors are not sure what, if any, disability she will have.
Sojourners
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