The United States congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, who was heavy injured when a gunman, who killed six and wounded 14 people, shoot her in the head three days ago.

She can breathe on her own but still has a breathing tube in place as a precaution, said her neurosurgeon Dr. Michael Lemole.

“She has a 101 percent chance of surviving,” said trauma chief Dr. Peter Rhee said, adding that she will not die.

Doctors are also encouraged that Giffords has been able to respond to basic commands.

She is still on a respirator and unable to talk but has been able to show signs of consciousness according to her campaign chairman and close friend, Mike McNulty.

It is impossible to tell the extent of the damage to Giffords' brain until she wakes up, and her full recovery will take several months and may take as long as a year and a half.