Doctor: Giffords able to breath on her own

[Ptah]

Source: Arizona Daily Star

Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords is able to breath on her own, her doctor said at a news conference this morning.

Neurosurgeon G. Michael Lemole Jr. said Giffords remained on a breathing machine, but noted that that was to help in her recovery.


Read more: http://azstarnet.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/article_3e30b19a-1da5-11e0-94eb-001cc4c002e0.html

[slackmaster]

1. Excellent news!

K&R

:kick:

[Name removed]

20. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[slackmaster]

21. He deserves a fair trial before the punishment is determined

:hi:

[tabatha]

2. Good news.

I love those doctors.

[PSzymeczek]

36. University of Arizona Medical Center

is one of the top trauma centers in the world.

[CTyankee]

42. It sounds like it's an area that really needs it!

[liberal N proud]

3. That is good news

[William769]

4. Fabulous news!

[PoliticAverse]

5. One step in likely a long road...

Best wishes to her.

[Kali]

6. this is so encouraging!

thanks for keeping up on the latest, Ptah

I am back on the music station now so getting the updates here is important to me.

[meegbear]

7. +1

[Oceansaway]

8. 1st smile for me all week !!....nt

[Ptah]

9. Here's an article with more details:

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/01/11/politics/main7235166.shtml?tag=breakingnews

U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords is breathing under her own power and generally
"holding her own" in her third day of recovery from a near-fatal gunshot wound,
doctors said Tuesday.

In a press conference at Tucson's University Medical Center, Dr. Peter Rhee
said that the three-term Democratic congresswoman is "progressing as expected"
with "no issues or problems." Both Rhee and neurosurgeon Dr. Michael Lemole
stressed that, despite encouraging signs, her condition remains very serious.

Still, the pace of Giffords' recovery since a gunman opened fire at a public
even Saturday has been remarkable, Lemole said.

"She has no right to look this good, and she does," he said. "We're hopeful."

[molly77]

26. Thank God and Rep Giffords for being tough

[elleng]

10. BRAVO! Makes my day!

[Dappleganger]

11. Good news indeed!

[woo me with science]

12. Very glad to hear of this progress.

Sorry to see it published with more distracting, piss-poor editing.

"Breath" is a noun. "Breathe" is the verb.

[iandhr]

good news

[iandhr]

good news

[iandhr]

13. good news

[Lasher]

14. Wheeeee, more good news!

Keep on keepin' on Gabby!

[florida08]

15. much relief..she's a fighter

[thisMike]

16. Progress

I have a feeling that after squeezing hands and raising two fingers on command for the umpteenth time Ms. Giffords is about ready to raise just one finger…

[nolabear]

17. Keep healing, Congresswoman.

And that goes for the rest of us, too.

[Edweird]

18. Wow. That's great news.

[CraftyGal]

19. Awesome! She is a fighter!

[Kajsa]

22. This is great news!

Thank you for sharing this.

:)

[bdamomma]

23. ................

I am hoping all her senses will be intact.

[Swede Atlanta]

24. Thank God

Our prayers have been answered.

[Swede Atlanta]

25. Thank God

Our prayers have been answered.

[Maat]

27. Boy, is she a fighter!

Good news!

[midnight]

28. Great news....

[AnnieBW]

29. Yay!

She's a fighter.

:bounce:

[tpsbmam]

30. Good news although

this isn't the part of her brain that was hit. All of those basic life functions are controlled by the medulla oblongata in the brain stem at the back of the brain. All of the efferent pathways (that "tell" musculature, diaphragm, etc what to do) go down the spinal cord. None of these were areas that were hit, though they most certainly could have failed to respond if her edema was still really significant. So that is, indeed, a really good sign.

The path of the bullet hit areas involved in higher cognitive functions. It was really a straight path and they reportedly needed to remove little brain matter, so hopefully her deficits will be minimal, maybe enough not to be easily noticeable by casual observers.

She has much in her favor: a very active brain, education, probably lots of overlap in her brain due to all of the previous, youth, overall health, rapid treatment/good emergency treatment/reaching the OR quickly, first rate medical care (from the sound of it)....many, many factors in her favor.

I'm definitely optimistic!

:D :grouphug:

[Control-Z]

33. What kind of minimal deficits?

Are you talking about mild paralysis, perhaps on one side of her face? Language difficulties, such as speech and/or comprehension? Fine motor skills? What exactly did you have in mind? And what are your qualifications?

[tpsbmam]

35. It depends on a lot of things

From news reports it sounds like the bullet entered the left side of her head and moved forward, crossing to the right side and exiting more toward the front of her brain.

In terms of deficits, it's impossible to tell right now (for the most part). It entered the left, so language may be involved. Speech comprehension appears to be intact since she's following commands -- excellent! She may also be able to sequence her responses -- I have no idea if that was tested or not since that wasn't reported. If she can, that's another excellent sign.

Deficits could range from difficulty with higher level auditory comprehension, expressive speech deficits (the language areas are on the left side of your brain), motor difficulties or some paralysis on her right side (controlled by the left side of the brain) to higher level executive functions that can be effected by frontal lobe damage (e.g., planning, organization, creativity, emotional stability, reasoning and more).

It's really too soon to speculate. All of her prognostic signs are promising -- what I mentioned before and the fact that she's this responsive so soon after the event is another good sign. Her outcome will depend on tons of things and things we still don't know now, like how much brain swelling there was. Only time is going to tell.

My qualifications are a Ph.D. in a field I'd rather not divulge. I can no longer work due to disability but spent my working years working in hospitals. Most of my patients had neurological damage/diseases of many different types.

[tblue37]

47. James Brady suffers from emotional lability from being shot in the

head during the assassination attempt on Ronald Reagan. That is one possible deficit.

My brother, who suffered a deep, long lasting coma when he threw some small fat emboli to his thalamus after hip replacement surgery in 2003, had to undergo months of rehab before he could return home to live alone. It took weeks before he could even sit up! He still suffers from some deficits, but they are noticeable only to those who know him very well--and, of course, to himself. He finds it harder to concentrate, so he can't read as fast as he used to, and you can't talk to him when he is driving in heavy traffic, cooking, or doing anything else that requires concentration, because it will disrupt his focus.

Giffords could suffer a number of deficits that would be frustrating to her--as my brother's are to him--without actually impairing her ability to function at a very high level, and even to continue to serve in office. Or she could suffer more serious deficits that could significantly impair her fucntioning and force her to retire and go on disability.

We were told our brother would never wake up again, and yet after about 3 weeks he did wake up. We were told to expect major limitations, yet he functions so well that no one who doesn't know what he was like before the coma could possibly imagine that he has any deficits at all.

The brain is such a remarkable organ. I will continue to cross my fingers and hope that Congresswoman Giffords will have an excellent outcome, as my brother did.

[Control-Z]

50. Thank you so much

for your thorough response. My first husband suffered a traumatic brain injury and was in a vegetative state for 3 years before he passed. You just offered me more information than his doctors ever did the entire time.

[tpsbmam]

54. So sorry about your husband. Sadly, the lack of information offered by docs

is a very familiar complaint. I kept a plastic brain in my office that could be pulled apart to look at the various areas. I can't tell you how much time I spent explaining to patients the things that their docs should have explained. Too many docs treat people like morons. Having information about what has gone on/is going on in the brain with any illness or injury is invaluable and most (not all) people really want it and appreciate it. It's empowering. I didn't hurry people through when discussing all of this. And I warned them that they'd likely forget a bunch of it and have more questions. I advised them to write down their questions as they thought of them and come back or call as needed. And advised them to take notes as we talked about all of it. It's very rare to find an MD who will do stuff like that. I do know a couple but they're really rare!

And PS. I got myself in trouble quite a few times by confronting some of those docs about the lack of information provided their patients. I even brought a couple of them to the ethics committee for complete lack of information before surgeries (i.e., their "informed consent" wasn't informed AT ALL). Believe me, that's NOT how to endear yourself to the medical establishment! The nurses & therapists (OT, PT, etc) on my unit loved me though -- they'd bring those issues to me knowing that I wasn't afraid to go after the holier-than-thou docs! :P

[LongTomH]

55. Another thank you for the information!

Only time will tell how much impairment Gaby will have; but, your detailed analysis does give us some reason for hope.

[leftynyc]

31. Excellent news

That Gabby sounds like a real fighter.

[DesertDiamond]

32. Step by step!! Complete recovery for Congresswoman Giffords!

[Terra Alta]

34. Great news!

I'm hoping and praying for a full and speedy recovery.

[RamboLiberal]

37. Dr Rhee: 101% chance for Giffords

Giffords now has a "101 percent chance" of surviving Saturday's shot to the head, said trauma surgeon Peter Rhee.

"She will not die—she does not have that permission from me," he said.

http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/local/report/011111_giffords_breathing

[delightfulstar]

38. So good to hear this!

I look forward to seeing her progress as she heals, and she is well on her way. Gabby is a fighter. I know that the road ahead may be a long one, but she will bring the same energy and passion to her recovery that she does to everything else. Continued peace, prayers, and positive energy to her and her family on this journey.

[handmade34]

39. Ms Giffords is in my thoughts

so many positive thoughts, hoping for her full recovery!!!!

[tabasco]

40. Terrific news!

Get well soon, you brave lady!

[faz]

41. She should run for president!

after her recovery.

[colsohlibgal]

43. That Makes My Day!

It will be a true joy when they move her to serious condition from critical. It at least seems like she's just about out of the woods and will stay with us. Love the reports about what abilities she's already demonstrated to them.

[Daemonaquila]

44. I know it's not possible...

but I hope that for once we'll see a "miraculous" recovery. She so doesn't deserve this kind of pain and disability, and it would be the perfect F You to the shooter and the crazed & hateful right to see her back in office.

[tblue37]

49. See my post 47 above. It might cheer you and give you hope about what might be

possible.

[rasputin1952]

45. Great news!!!!

:hug:

[diane in sf]

46. I really hope she retains her personality and intellect. I'm praying for a miracle of

no functional brain damage.

[Trajan]

48. I dont recall your acknowledgement ...

That Rep Giffords was in fact under a medically induced coma, while you ran about insisting anyone who said so was being untruthful ...

I wasn't drunk ...

[Ptah]

51. You are correct. I was wrong to say that.

I apologize.

[ZombieHorde]

52. Recommended. nt

[faz]

53. Get well!

Quickly