Tucson, Arizona (CNN) -- The breathing tube for U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords could be removed Friday as she continues on her "miracle" journey to recovery after she was critically injured in a mass shooting, her husband said.
Though the congresswoman had been shot in the head less than a week ago, she continued to make positive progress, her husband and doctors said Thursday.
The chief of neurosurgery at Tucson's University Medical Center said that Giffords' eye movements suggest the congresswoman is experiencing "glimmers of recognition".
"That tracking of the eyes tells you a whole lot more, that she's aware of her surroundings to some extent," Dr. Michael Lemole told Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN's chief medical correspondent. "She's trying to engage that reality".
Giffords opened her eyes briefly for the first time Wednesday, with her husband, her parents and other members of Congress in the room, and continued to open them on Thursday. CNN
