Houston: US Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, who was critically injured after she was shot in her head at a close range by an assailant in Arizona, was able to respond to basic verbal commands and even managed to give a thumbs-up, doctors treating her have said.
Medical officials in the intensive care unit of Tucson's University Medical Center said the US representative was able to raise two fingers and give a thumbs-up as directed.
Giffords, 40, has been in critical condition since she was shot in the head during a public event with constituents outside a supermarket. Six people were killed in the attack, and several others were injured.
Eight people including Giffords remain hospitalised.
Doctors have been monitoring Giffords' condition with frequent CAT scans, which have recently showed no further swelling in the brain.
Giffords family is by her side and is receiving constant updates from doctors.
Yesterday, two well-known doctors with extensive experience in traumatic brain injury were en route to Tucson to help consulting on Giffords' case.
Doctors had said the bullet traveled the length of the left side of the congresswoman's brain, entering the back of the skull and exiting the front.
Her doctors have declined to speculate on what specific disabilities Giffords may face as her recovery progresses.
"We're not out of the woods yet," neurosurgeon Dr Michael Lemole told the press.
"That swelling can sometimes take three days or five days to maximize. But every day that goes by and we don't see an increase, we're slightly more optimistic."
The bullet entered through the back of the skull, penetrating the left side of Giffords' brain and exiting the front of her head.
Doctors performed an operation on Saturday to remove half of her skull.
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