US congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords has released the first pictures of herself since she was shot in the head in January.
The photographs were published on her Facebook page early today and show her with her hair shorn short but with few other telling signs of the gunshot wound to the head that nearly killed her.
The photographs, taken on May 17th outside her Houston hospital, are the first clear snapshots of Ms Giffords since the shooting five months ago during a constituent meet-and-greet in a Safeway car park in Tucson.
The images show how far she has come since she was wounded in the left side of her forehead, but her spokeswoman, Pia Carusone, has cautioned that Mrs Giffords still has a long way to go in her recovery.
Mrs Giffords has been in a Houston rehab facility since two weeks after the January 8th shooting. Six people were killed and 13 were injured.Ms Carusone said on Friday that Mrs Giffords could be released sometime this month.
Jared Lee Loughner (22) has pleaded not guilty to charges stemming from the shooting and is being held at a Missouri facility. A judge declared him incompetent to stand trial, but prosecutors hope his competency can be restored so he can answer for the charges.
AP