Gabrielle Giffords' Breathing Tube Could Be Removed Today, but Jim Brady is Proof that Her Road to Recovery Could Be a Long One

Gabrielle Giffords' breathing tube could be removed today, the next small step on her road to recovery. Barack Obama gave the nation a quick update on Rep. Giffords' progress at the Tucson shooting memorial service when he announced that Giffords opened her eyes for the first time shortly after he visited her. Her husband, Mark Kelly, says that she seems to have realized that Barack Obama was there, but that she didn't seem to grasp why he was there.

The chief of neurosurgery at Tucson's University Medical Center also says that Giffords' eye movements suggest that she is experiencing glimmers of recognition. But with all of this progress comes plenty of cautious optimism, because such serious injuries can have devastating long-term effects.

Jim Brady, Ronald Reagan's press secretary, knows too well how devastating a gunshot wound to the head can be. He was with the President when John Hinckley Jr. fired off a round of shots; he was the victim who was most critically injured.

The bullet had exploded the right frontal lobe of his brain, but, like Giffords, he seemed to experience a miracle when doctors were able to save him. However, Brady has recounted that physical therapy was a very difficult process for him, and he has gone through years of it, experiencing plenty of medical crises along the way. Brady was also paralyzed on his left side, unable to move his arm or leg. Fortunately, news that Giffords can move both legs and arms is promising.

Still, doctors say that it could take months for her brain to recover from the exhaustion of the injury. She could recover some skills rapidly over the next six months or so, but then progress slows. In Jim Brady's case, he initially had difficulty controlling his emotions and recognizing faces, but after years of rehabilitation, he's regained most of his speech and cognitive functions.

Oddly enough, being a woman could make recovery for Giffords more difficult, although doctors don't understand why. She could also face future complications, like an increased risk for dementia, Parkinson's disease, depression, and epilepsy. She may also experience problems with hand-eye coordination, difficulty reading, and memory loss.

Gabrielle Giffords is proving to be a fighter despite the odds, and is making more and more progress; doctors are also planning to have her sit up in a chair in addition to taking her breathing tube out today.

However, the physical recovery process isn't the only thing that will be difficult for the Congresswoman. She'll always bear the emotional scars of experiencing such a traumatic event, one that's hard for healthy, fully-function minds to grasp.