Malala Yusufzai: Shot Girl Stands In Hospital

Malala Yusufzai, the schoolgirl shot in the head by Taliban gunmen in Pakistan, has been able to stand with help for the first time in hospital in the UK.

Birmingham's Queen Elizabeth Hospital said the bullet which struck the 15-year-old just above her left eye had grazed the edge of her brain.

Speaking outside the hospital, Dr Dave Rosser, medical director of the University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, said: "It's clear that Malala is not out of the woods yet.

"Having said that, she is doing very well. In fact she was standing with some help for the first time this morning when I went in to see her."

He also said she is able to communicate by writing notes.

Malala was flown to Birmingham on Monday to receive specialist "prolonged care" to help her recover.

The teenager was shot with two classmates as they made their way home from school in Swat, in the north west of Pakistan.

She was attacked by the Taliban for promoting the education of girls and criticising the militant group.

Foreign Secretary William Hague described the attack as "barbaric".

The hospital has received more than 2,300 messages of support for her.

Dr Rosser said Malala was happy for him to share details of her clinical care and wished to thank people around the world for their support.

He said she had the potential to make "pretty much a full recovery" but may not undergo reconstructive surgery for at least two weeks.

"Malala is still showing some signs of infection which is probably related to the bullet track, which is our key source of concern," he said.

Although Malala is currently unable to talk due to a tracheostomy tube, Dr Rosser added: "She is communicating very freely, she is writing.

"Her airway was swollen by the passing of the bullet, so in order to protect her airway she had a tracheostomy tube.

"She is not able to talk, although we have no good reason to think that she wouldn't be able to talk once this tube is out, which may be in the next few days."

Giving details of the bullet wound - which came within inches of causing death - Dr Rosser said: "Malala was struck just above the back of the left eye.

"The bullet went down through the side of her jaw, damaging the skull and the jaw joint on the left hand side... went through the neck and lodged in the tissues above the shoulder blade.

"The bullet grazed the edge of her brain. Certainly if you're talking a couple of inches more central, then it's almost certainly an unsurvivable injury."