The Hill News

Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) has a "101 percent" chance of surviving Saturday’s shooting, according to her doctors.

"She has a 101 percent chance of surviving," University Medical Center Critical Care and Trauma Director Dr. Peter Rhee said Tuesday.

He said he did not know her mental state.

“I can’t tell you whether she’s going to be in a vegetative state. I hope that she’s not and I don’t think she will be in a vegetative state. I know that she’s not going to die,” he said.

Rhee and Chief of Neurosurgery Dr. Michael Lemole said at a press conference Tuesday that Giffords's condition had not changed since Monday, which they said was a good sign.

The two doctors cautioned that her progress would be decided largely by her, and that there really was no way to get a sense of how quickly she would improve.

"This is the phase of the care where it's pretty much up to her," Lemole said. "As lo! ng as we don't backslide and as along as she keeps her own, that's good. She's going to take her recovery at her own pace."

Lemole and Rhee both cautioned that despite Giffords's promising recovery so far, her injury was very serious; generally, they said, recovery for gunshot wounds to the head is rare.

"This kind of injury, the survival, let alone recovery [rate], is abysmal," Lemole said. "I do want to underscore the seriousness of this injury and the fact that we all have to be patient."

In recent days, Giffords had shown a number of promising signs in her recovery after being shot through the head at point-blank range. She has displayed motor function and is capable of breathing on her own, although doctors have kept her on a ventilator to prevent complications like pneumonia.