Last Updated, 9:15 p.m. As The Times reports, the Pakistani schoolgirl who was shot in the head by the Taliban, to silence her calls for girls' education, continues to show signs of recovery at the British hospital where she is being treated.
In an extensive text update on her condition posted online, doctors at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham said that the gravely wounded teenager, Malala Yousafzai, was able to stand with assistance and communicate by writing. The hospital also released the first photograph of the young activist with her eyes open since she was shot on Oct. 9.
PICTURE: #Malala in Hospital (Oct-19) … http://t.co/py28PE6F
@beenasarwar- Shabbir Hussain Imam (@peshavar) 19 Oct 12
The image rapidly spread across social networks, electrifying supporters of the young woman who cheered the news that, as one Brazilian journalist observed, “Taliban , you lost.â€
In the update on her condition, under the heading, “Next Steps in Care,†the hospital explained that Malala “Needs time to recover and recuperate,†adding:
- She is still very ill
- We need to get her strong enough to do reconstructive surgery
- The skull bone will need to be replaced either with her own bone or with a titanium plate
- Surgery weeks to months down the line
- This is a fluid situation and she sustained a very, very grave injury. She's not out of the woods yet, but we are hopeful she will make a good recovery.
Since the shooting, Malala's plight has generated worldwide interest in the news media, as well as among public officials and complete strangers offering to help her. The British hospital also created a page where people can send messages to Malala or contribute donations to support her recovery.
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