Politician Gabrielle Giffords is to be moved from Arizona to Houston, Texas, for intensive mental and physical rehabilitation, less than two weeks after surviving a bullet through the brain in an attempted assassination.
The 40-year-old Arizona Democrat congresswoman will have to relearn how to think and plan and it is unclear if she is able to speak or how well she can see.
And while she is moving both arms and legs, it is uncertain how much strength she has on her right side.
Hospital spokeswoman Janet Stark said Ms Giffords was able to stand with assistance from medical staff yesterday - another significant milestone in her recovery.
Ms Giffords’ family hopes to move her to TIRR Memorial Hermann hospital in Houston on Friday, where her husband, astronaut Mark Kelly, lives and works.
“I am extremely hopeful at the signs of recovery that my wife has made since the shooting,” Mr Kelly said in a statement released by Ms Giffords’ congressional office.
The staff at University Medical Centre in Tucson “has stabilised her to the point of being ready to move to the rehabilitation phase”, he added.
Meanwhile, a federal grand jury indicted shooting suspect Jared Loughner (22), early today, accusing him of attempting to assassinate Ms Giffords and trying to kill two of her aides.
Mr Loughner is accused of shooting Ms Giffords in the forehead on January 8th while she was meeting constituents outside a supermarket in Tucson. The gunman shot 18 other people, killing six.
The indictment does not include two murder charges included in an earlier criminal complaint over the deaths of another Giffords aide and Arizona’s top judge, Judge John Roll.
US attorney for Arizona Dennis Burke said today’s initial indictment was just the beginning of federal legal action against Loughner, of Tucson.
Authorities in Arizona said Mr Loughner was due back in court at a preliminary hearing in Phoenix on Monday.
Dr John Holcomb, a retired US Army colonel and a trauma surgeon at the Houston hospital, praised the care Ms Giffords received in Tucson and said she would “move quickly toward a tailored and comprehensive rehab plan”.
Since being taken off sedation, Ms Giffords has been alert and opening her eyes more often. She also started rigorous physiotherapy, dangling her legs over her bedside to exercise her muscles and sitting in a chair for periods at a time.
Mr Kelly said previously that she gave him a neck rub. However, the extent of her injuries and long-term prognosis will not be known for some time.
Ms Giffords’ family considered rehabilitation centres in Washington, New York, Chicago and Houston, doctors said.
The Houston centre “has a national reputation for treating serious penetrating brain injuries and is also in a community where I have family and a strong support network,” Mr Kelly’s statement said.
He was due to command Nasa’s last space shuttle flight in April, but that is now uncertain.
In Arizona, meanwhile, a video surfaced indicating that Judge Roll died trying to save the life of another person at the political rally.
Surveillance footage of the rampage showed that used his body to shield an injured man. The judge was then shot in the back and died in the process.
“The judge is a hero,” Pima County Sheriff’s Chief Rick Kastigar said.
Reuters