Gabrielle Giffords, a Democrat who has represented Arizona's Eighth Congressional District, was shot in the head at point-blank range on Jan. 8 as she greeted constituents outside a Tuscon supermarket.
A chief judge for the United States District Court, John M. Roll, and five other victims were killed, including 9-year-old Christina Green. Thirteen other victims were injured, including Giffords.
FBI investigators identified Jared Lee Loughner as the alleged gunman. The 22-year-old suspect was taken into custody at the scene, tackled by onlookers as he struggled to reload his Glock semiautomatic pistol. Lougher, a college dropout, was charged with five federal counts, including the attempted assassination of a member of Congress.
When Giffords, 40, was shot, the bullet entered her skull, traversed through her brain, then exited out the back, leaving behind some fragments of bone.
Giffords remains in critical condition at the University Medical Center. According to hospital officials, one other shooting victim remains in critical condition, another is classified as serious and three remain in fair condition.
Giffords is in the intensive care unit and is now able to breathe on her own. A breathing tube remains in place, however, to protect her from infection.
Dr. Peter Rhee, medical director of University Medical Center's Trauma and Critical Care and professor of surgery at the University of Arizona College of Medicine Department of Surgery, said two of the remaining six patients at the hospital underwent surgery today and additional surgeries are planned throughout the week:
"Everything is currently going well with all of those patients," Rhee said. "They are progressing as expected. So far, there are no issues or problems."
Dr. G. Michael Lemole Jr., a leading authority on skull base surgery and section chief of neurosurgery at the UA Department of Surgery, who performed surgery on Giffords, reported that the congresswoman's status remains the same:
"I'm happy to say she's holding her own. Her status is the same as it was yesterday. She's still following those simple commands. We've been able to back off on some of the sedation and she's able to generate her own breaths. She's breathing on her own."
Lemole said physicians will continue using the breathing tube to protect Rep. Giffords' airway so that she doesn't have a complication, such as pneumonia. Lemole is hopeful about Giffords' condition but reiterated the seriousness of her injury and urged extreme patience:
"She is going to take her recovery at her own pace. I'm very encouraged by the fact that she has done so well. She has no right to look this good and she does."
According to experts, gunshot wounds to the head are fatal in nearly 90 percent of all cases. If Giffords survives this ordeal, recovery may take up to a year and a half.
We wish you well, congresswoman!