First picture of Malala in hospital, she is able to stand

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This is the first picture of shot Pakistani schoolgirl Malala Yousafzai in her hospital bed.

The photograph shows her looking at the camera, clutching a white and pink teddy bear.

Doctors at Queen Elizabeth Hospital, in Birmingham, where the 14-year-old is being treated, have released details of her injuries after the teen consented to them being made public.

They added she has stood up for the first time since she was shot in the head by the sniper.

Her first question after waking up from an induced coma was: 'Which country am I in?'

Surgeons have said the schoolgirl is responding well to treatment, although Dr Dave Rosser, Medical Director, added she is 'not out of the woods yet'. 

Because her brain is still swollen, doctors do not yet know how damaged her brain will be. 

She has also developing an infection in her throat.

Dr Rosser said the infection probably related to the track of a bullet, which grazed her head when she was attacked by Taliban gunmen. 
He said: 'She is writing very freely, she has had a tracheotomy as her airway was swollen by the passing of the bullet.

'She's not able to talk, but we have no reason to believe she wouldn't be able to talk once this tube is out, which may be in the next few days.

'One of my colleagues spoke to her in Urdu, although she is understanding English, and she is keen that I share the details and thank people for their support, as she is obviously aware of the amount of interest and support, and she is keen to thank people for that.'

Dr Rosser explained that Malala would now need a significant period of rest and recuperation before she has reconstructive surgery and that this would probably be weeks to months down the line.

He added that 'Malala would like to thank all the well-wishers for their message of support and the doctors and nurses who are treating her'.

Malala had been struck just above the back of her left eye with the bullet going down the side of her jaw and damaging the skull.

It went through her neck and lodged in the tissue above her shoulder blade on the left.

He added: 'The bullet was removed in Pakistan fairly quickly, pretty much straight after the event, but in terms of her further care, specialist teams think she is going to need a couple more weeks to rehabilitate, until this infection has cleared up, then her skull will need reconstructing, either by using the piece of bone that was removed initially, or with a titanium plate.

'Her jaw joint may need further work down the line but that remains to be assessed.

'We know there was some damage done to the brain, we believe from the MRI scans that the bullet grazed the lateral part of her brain, but we know that most of the damage was actually caused by shock waves.

'These kinds of injuries cause a lot more damage than they would if you simply poked a needle through tissue.

He said Malala was able to understand - and had some memory of - what happened to her. He added: 'whether there will be any subtle intellectual or memory deficits down the line is too early to say.'

More than 1,500 messages of support for Malala Yousafzai, who arrived in Britain on Monday.

The hospital said that, since arriving in Britain on Monday, Malala has received one-to-one nursing care, 24 hours a day - from staff at the hospital and their colleagues from Birmingham Children's Hospital.

Yesterday women's right campaigners took to the streets of Birmingham to stage a candlelit vigil in support of the brave girl.



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