Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) has a “101 percent” chance of surviving, her doctor said Tuesday following a news conference at which it was announced that the lawmaker is now capable of breathing on her own.
Giffords, who remained in critical condition Tuesday, has “a 101 percent” chance of surviving, Dr. Peter Rhee, Chief of Trauma at the University of Arizona Medical Center, said.
Despite Rhee’s optimistic outlook for Giffords’ recovery, he was unable to tell reporters whether or not the congresswoman would be in a vegetative state.
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“I can’t tell you whether she’s going to be in a vegetative state,” Rhee said. “I hope that she’s not and I don’t think she will be in a vegetative state. I know that she’s not going to die.”
Giffords had begun breathing on her own, but doctors opted to keep her hooked up to a ventilator to prevent complications such as pneumonia, from developing, neurosurgeon Dr. Michael Lemole said.
“I’m happy to say that she’s holding her own,” Lemole said. “We’ve been able to back off on some of that sedation and in fact she’s able to generate her own breaths; she’s breathing on her own.”
Lemole said that he was “encouraged” by Giffords’ progress, emphasizing the severity of her injury.
“She has no right to look this good, but she does,” he said.
Giffords remained in the hospital’s intensive care unit after she was shot in the head by 22-year-old gunman Jared Lee Loughner as she met with her constituents at a political event Saturday in Tucson, Ariz.
Five other victims remained hospitalized Tuesday. Of those, three patients were in serious condition while two were listed in fair condition.
Loughner was denied bail Monday after making his first appearance in a federal court in Phoenix. He faces two charges of murder and and three charges of attempted murder over the shooting spree.
Loughner has been charged over the deaths of Giffords’ aide Gabriel Zimmerman, 30, and Judge John Roll, 63, who were federal employees.
He has not yet been charged in the murders of Christina-Taylor Green, nine; Dorothy Morris, 76; Dorwin Stoddard, 76; and Phyllis Schneck, 79, because they were civilians and those cases are outside the jurisdiction of the federal government.