Tucson, Arizona (CNN) — U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords has been upgraded from critical to serious condition, eight days after being shot through the brain at a public event.
“The congresswoman continues to do well,” University Medical Center in Tucson said todayin a statement.
Giffords has been off the ventilator and breathing on her own, through a tracheotomy tube, since a surgical procedure on Saturday. A feeding tube was inserted as part of the same operation, which took place exactly one week after a bullet went in and out of her skull.
The Arizona Democrat ismoving both sides of her body, her friend and fellow congresswoman, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, said Sunday.
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“She’s doing great,” the New York Democrat said on NBC’s “Meet The Press,” adding that Giffords is “making progress every day.”
Gillibrand told CBS’ “Face the Nation” that Giffords is moving both sides of her body and is “showing people that she can communicate well by, you know, holding our hands and moving her arms and legs and looking at us. So she’s making great progress.”
Giffords was among 19 people shot at the “Congress on Your Corner” event at a Tucson supermarket. Authorities believe she was the target of the mass shooting that left six dead and another 13 wounded. A 22-year-old suspect, Jared Lee Loughner, is in custody.
