Gabrielle Giffords Off Ventilator for First Time

Doctors replace breathing tube with tracheotomy tube
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 15, 2011 4:48 PM CST
Gabrielle Giffords Off Ventilator for First Time
Tom LaCorte, right, and his wife Ana LaCorte, with their son Tommy LaCorte, at the Tucson Safeway that reopened for business today.   (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Another milestone for Gabrielle Giffords: Doctors today took her off a ventilator for the first time since last week's shooting, reports CNN. They removed her breathing tube—she was breathing on her own all along, but it had been left in as a precaution—and replaced it with a tracheotomy tube to help her breathe better. Doctors also gave her a feeding tube, which they described as a common procedure in such cases, notes AP. She remains in critical condition but her recovery "continues as planned," said a hospital statement.
(More Gabrielle Giffords shooting stories.)

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