Doctors see signs of hope for Giffords's recovery.

Rep. Gabrielle Giffords was
fighting for her life Sunday
after being shot through the
head, but doctors said the
passage of the bullet through
only one side of her brain and
her initial responsiveness give
hope she could survive and
even possibly recover.
Giffords, however, has
entered a crucial 48-hour
period when swelling from the
trauma of the bullet blast
could cause as much damage
to her brain as the initial
wound, possibly triggering a
major deterioration of her
condition. The Arizona
Democrat also faces many
additional risks, including
possible infections, more
bleeding, and a long period of
rehabilitation to limit
permanent disabilities.
While most people who are
shot in the head or suffer
other severe head trauma do
not survive, there have been
remarkable cases of victims
who have come back- such as
Jim Brady, President Ronald
Reagan's press secretary, who
survived a gunshot wound to
the head during the 1981
assassination attempt. Brady
lost the use of his left arm
and leg, but largely recovered
otherwise.
"It's hard to say anyone is
ever really completely okay
after being shot in the head,
but [Giffords] has a good
chance of being able to walk
away from this," said Arthur
Kobrine, a professor of
neurosurgery at Georgetown
University Hospital who
treated Brady's injuries. "She
has the chance to move
around and laugh and walk
and cry and talk and maybe
even return to Congress."
Brady's injury was much more
serious than Giffords's, yet he
made a "miraculous"
recovery, Kobrine said. Still,
doctors said there is no way to
predict Giffords's prognosis.
"Everyone is cautious about
calling it, but I am optimistic,"
said Peter Rhee, trauma
medical director at the
University Medical Center in
Tucson, whose team got
Giffords into neurosurgery
within 38 minutes after first
seeing her.
"This is about as good as it
gets," Rhee said. "When you
get shot and the bullet goes
through your brain, the
chances of your living are very
small."
The shot, allegedly from 22-
year-old Jared Loughner, was
fired at close range, entered
the congresswoman's brain at
the back and exited from the
front, which suggests she was
turned - or turning - away
from him as the shot was
fired.
The bullet traveled through a
significant portion of Giffords's
brain, Rhee said, but
fortunately did not cross from
the left hemisphere to the
right hemisphere, or vice
versa. When a bullet passes
across a brain, it is much
more likely to do more
devastating damage, including
to life-sustaining areas such as
the brain stem.
"The people who tend to do
best are the ones who have
gunshots that do not cross
through the midline," said
Christopher Kalhorn, associate
professor of neurology at
Georgetown University
Hospital. "When gunshots
cross the midline, the
prognosis is much poorer."
In Giffords's case, only the left
side of the brain was damaged
by the bullet. An intact left or
right hemisphere means a
victim can retain significant
functioning even with the
other side severely damaged.
Damage to the left
hemisphere, however, can be
more serious than damage to
the right. The left side of the
brain controls movement on
the right side of the body and,
for all right-handed people
and most lefties, is also
largely responsible for speech
and the ability to understand
speech. Doctors said this
makes the congresswoman's
responsiveness to basic
commands remarkable.

Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/09/AR2011010904439.html