Shot Congresswoman Giffords may be released from ICU next week

Washington, Jan 26 (ANI): Gabrielle Giffords, the Democrat Representative who was in critical condition after being shot in Arizona, may be released from intensive care and transferred to a brain rehabilitation hospital as early as this week.

ABC News quoted her doctors as saying that fluid accumulation in her brain that concerned them over the weekend has already begun to subside, adding that the most critical period has passed and Giffords is now receiving three hours of physical therapy regularly.

Giffords doctors had inserted a small drain in her skull over the weekend to remove the brain fluid that had delayed her transfer out of ICU.

Stressing that she has made immense improvement, doctors claimed that on her way to the Air Force base, her fans cheered and waved flags to show their support, to which Giffords responded by smiling. We could hear applause in the ambulance with Gabby, and she responded very well to that, smiling and even tearing a little bit. It was very emotional and very special," Dr. Randall Friese, one of the doctors who treated Giffords in Tucson, said.

Meanwhile, in State of the Union address, members of both political parties had worn black and white ribbons to show their support for Giffords and the people of Tucson. In a special gesture, her friends in Congress left one seat unfilled.

"There is going to be a chair left empty to symbolize what we all know will be a triumphant return to the House of Representatives when she comes back to us full strength," Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Florida, said.

Last week, Giffords' husband, Kelly had said that she soon would be "back at work" and predicted she would be walking around in a couple of weeks, adding: "I'm extremely hopeful that Gabby will make a full recovery. She is a fighter like nobody else I know."

Giffords, an Arizona Democrat, and 18 others were shot on Saturday morning when a gunman opened fire outside a supermarket where Giffords was meeting with her constituents. (ANI)