Updated at 2:45 p.m. ET: LONDON -- Malala Yousufzai, the 14-year-old Pakistani schoolgirl shot in the head by the Taliban, has every chance of making a "good recovery," British doctors said on Monday as she arrived at a hospital in central England for treatment of her severe wounds.
Yousufzai, who was shot for advocating education for girls, was flown from Pakistan to receive specialist treatment at a unit at Birmingham's Queen Elizabeth Hospital that has expertise in dealing with complex trauma cases. The unit has treated hundreds of soldiers wounded in Afghanistan.
"Doctors... believe she has a chance of making a good recovery on every level," said Dr. Dave Rosser, the hospital's medical director, adding that her treatment and rehabilitation could take months.
He told reporters Yousufzai, whose shooting has drawn widespread condemnation, had not yet been assessed by British medics but said she would not have been brought to Britain at all if her prognosis was not good.
TV footage showed a patient, believed to be the schoolgirl, being rushed from an ambulance into the hospital surrounded by a large team of medical staff.
She will undergo scans to reveal the extent of her injuries, but Rosser said doctors could not provide any further details without her agreement.
Pakistani surgeons removed a bullet from near the girl's spinal cord during a three-hour operation the day after the attack last week, but she now needs intensive specialist follow-up care. Treatment is likely to include repairing damaged bones in her skull and complex neurological follow-up.
"Injuries to bones in the skull can be treated very successfully by the neurosurgeons and the plastic surgeons, but it is the damage to the blood supply to the brain that will determine long-term disability," said Duncan Bew, consultant trauma surgeon at Barts Health NHS Trust in London. Judging the best way forward in such difficult cases requires a wide range of experienced medics working as a team.
"In trauma, it is really the coordinated impact of intensive care that is critical. It's not just about keeping the patient alive but also maximising their rehabilitation potential. With neurological injuries that is paramount," Bew said.
Doctors said youth was on her side since a young brain has more ability to recover from injury than a mature one.
"On the positive side, Malala has passed two major hurdles - the removal of the bullet and the very critical 48-hour window after surgery," said Anders Cohen, head of neurosurgery at the Brooklyn Hospital Center in New York.
British Foreign Secretary William Hague said Yousufzai would receive specialized care in a hospital in the country’s National Health Service system.
"Last week's barbaric attack on Malala Yousufzai and her school friends shocked Pakistan and the world. Malala's bravery in standing up for the right of all young girls in Pakistan to an education is an example to us all,” Hague said in a statement.
Queen Elizabeth Hospital is the main receiving facility for British soldiers wounded in Afghanistan, and the spokeswoman said the staff were confident they would be able to provide Yousufzai with the necessary care.
Read more on this story at ITV News
Earlier, a medical team from the United Arab Emirates decided that Yousufzai would require prolonged care to recover fully from the physical and psychological trauma, a Pakistani military statement said before she left for Britain. The panel of doctors recommended she receive treatment abroad, the statement said.
Yousufzai's family was consulted and their wishes were taken into consideration, according to the military.
Attacked while leaving school
Yousufzai was leaving school in her hometown in the Swat Valley in northwest Pakistan on Oct. 9 when she was shot in the head and neck by the Taliban for speaking out against the militants and promoting education for girls.
Yousufzai, a cheerful schoolgirl who had wanted to become a doctor before agreeing to her father's wishes that she strive to be a politician, has become a potent symbol of resistance against the Taliban's efforts to deprive girls of education.
On Sunday, tens of thousands rallied in Pakistan's largest city in support of Yousufzai.
The demonstration in the southern city of Karachi was by far the largest since Yousufzai and two of her classmates were shot.
Still, most government officials have refrained from publicly criticizing the Taliban by name over the attack, in what critics say is a lack of resolve against extremism.
Opponents of Pakistan's government and military say the shooting is another example of the state's failure to tackle militancy, the biggest threat to the stability of the nuclear-armed South Asian country.
The shooting of Yousufzai was the culmination of years of campaigning that had pitted the young girl against one of Pakistan's most ruthless Taliban commanders, Maulana Fazlullah.

Reuters TV
Fourteen-year-old Malala Yousufzai is transported from a hospital in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, on Monday.
‘Public revulsion and condemnation’
The attack horrified people inside and outside Pakistan and sparked hope among some that it would prompt the government to intensify its fight against the Taliban and their allies.
“The public revulsion and condemnation of this cowardly attack shows that the people of Pakistan will not be beaten by terrorists. The U.K. stands shoulder to shoulder with Pakistan in its fight against terrorism,” Britain’s Hague said in his statement.
But protests against the shooting have been relatively small until now, usually attracting no more than a few hundred people.
That response pales in comparison to the tens of thousands of people who held violent protests in Pakistan last month against a film produced in the United States that denigrated Islam's Prophet Muhammad.
Fresh Taliban attack
The Taliban struck again on Sunday night, attacking the police outpost near Peshawar with rocket-propelled grenades and gunfire, according to Reuters. Security officials said at least six policemen were killed, including two who were beheaded.
Seven policemen are still missing and presumed kidnapped. Several police cars and an armored vehicle were torched.
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The Taliban has been blamed for many suicide bombings across Pakistan and have also staged sophisticated, high-profile attacks on the military, one of the biggest in the world.
Pakistan's interior minister said police had dispatched guards to protect journalists who had been threatened by Taliban militants angered by coverage of Yousufzai's case.
The Taliban, based mostly in the unruly ethnic Pashtun tribal areas near the Afghan border, have said they would now try to kill her father, a headmaster of a girls' school in Swat.
Reuters and NBC News' Fakhar Rehman contributed to this report.
More world stories from NBC News:
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- Video: Pyramid reopens despite turmoil in Egypt
- Video: Pakistan teen shot by Taliban moves hands, feet
- Clinton reaffirms support for Libya, emerging democracies
- Madonna dedicates striptease to child activist shot by Taliban
- Western intelligence sees 'small signs of wavering' on Iran nuclear policy
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I wonder how many of us brave Americans with our computers and blogs would stand up for our principles like this young lady did...And that includes me in that comment.
It's one thing to talk, but this girl not only walked the talk, but she did it in the true since of standing up against tyranny. Not just some freedom of speech comment we make here in the states...
While this was an act of cowardice on the taliban's part and we all wish for the best for her recovery, if she wasn't an attractive girl as she is, there wouldn't be all this media coverage. Think about it: If she was overweight, had bad teeth, etc. there'd be little coverage because otherwise only pretty faces sell.
ProFreedom....spoken like a true liberal.
Hey ProFreedom. If she was pretty but mentally challenged like you would she still get the coverage? Just sayin'
joe- the answer to that is "no", she wouldn't get coverage because it wouldn't fit the mold nor would it sell the image they want us to buy into.
Coyote- sorry, I don't buy into the whole fascism thing.
well than you dont know what fascism is.....spoken like a true sheeple thinking america has your back. bwaaaahaaa......
"bs"- a very applicable name based on your ignorant comment... spoken like a true ostrich with head stuck in sand, thinking America's out to get you. Put on your tinfoil hat and hide, hide, hide henny penny LOL!!!
i guess you dont remember the afghan girl of '85 on the cover of national geopgraphic?
profreedom......
is that all the better you can come up with when you cant counter with facts?
you must think we are fighting for freedom over in the middle east....if thats the case get off of your dead ass and go fight.
bs- yes, in fact I still have the copy with her penetrating eyes- still sells us after all these years doesn't it? I find it humorous you'd mention that as it must have had quite an impact, underscoring my point.
Counter 'facts'? What facts- yours? You presented no facts but just b.s. so it has no merit or credibility to begin with. Then you said I should get off MY "dead ass and go fight"?? Already did that 3 times in the past: Can YOU say the same thing? Didn't think so.
dont speak to fast sparky....im a disabled vet. you still support the nonsense being fed.....they need a few good soldiers to fight the jews wars.....theres a flight out tonight, dont miss it.
We don't have to nuke em, just draw cartoons of them or their so called prophet and they go into such frenzies that they begin killing each other, just like too many rats in a cage. Use the girl as bait, when the assassins come after her just keep on shooting the bastards.
The Taliban is a disorganized, misguided criminal organization. Their "religion" provides an excuse to rule at will. Until Pakistan and other prehistoric societies get serious about controlling them, the pillage will continue. Eventually, the nuclear weapons will fall into their hands and, hopefully, they will die in their own burning hell. They deserve it. There is no way to change their beliefs and we have no business trying!
The Brave little girl is an idol. She has kindled the flame of free spirit in thousands of girls/women worldwide. She is a hero. I hope the best for her. We all need to be like her. Understand and know the difference between right and wrong. All kids know that difference from birth but we lose it somewhere while growing up.
It is ironic (and predictable, but the Taliban are too stupid to know this), that shooting this girl made her a martyr and drew much more attention to her plight. I had never known of this girl before her shooting. I admire this very brave little girl. I am so glad that the world has stood and taken notice.
OMG! these people are the most uncivilized animals who are so relunctant to change because the men are afraid that the women will become educated and their so called manhood will be threatened that their willing to shoot a little girl to make their point they will continue keeping their women locked up and covered from head to toe so they can feel good about themselves I hope this girl is allowed to stay in the U.K. with her family where she can go to school and make something out of her life, as far as the rest of those animals over there Im sick of hearing about their daily violence on the U.S. and their barbaric beliefs our current government with our muslim president has done more to help the middle east then his done for the american people maybe he needs to move over there with his muslim brothers he has done so much damage by sending them money so the terrorists can buy more weapons to come back and kill americans they already have nuclear bombs and their aiming them at the U.S. they are well trained now for combat thanks to Obama making our soldiers train them over there they are taking our money and laughing all the way to the bank and thinking if americans are stupid enough to give us their money will take it and then go and kill some more of those dumb americans thanks to Obama we are nothing but a joke to them and they think were weak and have no backbone its time to take them all out over there their like snakes that will never stop sleethering and spreading their poison around.
This would be a lot easier to read if you used punctuation!
Bush sent them money, too. Were you upset then?
She is being moved for security purpose. They cannot protect her in Pakistan. No one knows who is loyal to who. The first shift guard will guard her the second is loyal to Al-Qaeda and the Taliban. That is the same Al-Qaeda that Obama's admin says is all but gone, yeah, sure. The same admin that says it's the video. And the same admin that will correctly ascertain when Iran will have a nuclear weapon. My family and I feel so safe.
Romney/Ryan 2012
Looks like there's some revolt and response in form of protest from the citizens of Pakistan and Afghanistan. If the Taliban is going to be defeated, the citizens need to do it, and maybe this finally was the straw that broke the camel's back. Time will tell.
The Evangelical Right and the Mormons will be like the Taliban if Romney wins. Their Motto is women stay home while the men do the work. HEHE.
I think they are threatened by the fact that more women are graduation college than men. Maybe in another generation, women will have the power positions currently held by men. I think that is what they want to prevent.
The Pakistanis have deliberately created a Frankenstein Monster over the past 30 years, and now the monster the ISI thought it could control and would do its bidding in Afghanistan and Kashmir is running amok and is taking Pakistan back into a feudal past of ignorance and medieval barbarism.
Meanwhile its boogeyman, India, is progressing rapidly into modernity and prosperity through the very things the ISI has destroyed in Pakistan -- tolerance, education, and democracy. "As ye sow, so shall ye reap."
"On Sunday, tens of thousandsrallied in Pakistan's largest city in support of Yousufzai.
The demonstration in the southern city of Karachi was by far the largest since Yousufzai and two of her classmates were shot."
If the Pakistani people want to stop this they better do it themselves. The fractured government, the Pakistani Military and, the ISI each seem to have their own agenda.
The War on Terror continues! The people of Pakistan must stand up and fight this evil. This young lady paid a great price for her cause of freedom!
"CHILDREN SEEKING WORLD PEACE" (Short Film Script)
Opening Scene;
We see the Outside of the United Nations Building next we see a man dressed in a suite carrying a brief case walking into the building he approaches the Desk of the Chairman of the United Nations, pulls out a very large manila envelope and hands it to the Chairman. The Chairman opens the envelope, reads the paper work and scratches his head, looks up at the Special Carrier with a bewildered look on his face and says; Wow this is an Extremely Unusual Request and it comes from very unusual sources this is a First for me.
Carrier
What do you mean unusual request, who sent the letter ?
Chairman
Did you notice the Post Marks on this letter ?
Carrier
Yes I did, and it also has so many different kinds of stamps on it from around the World.
I have never seen so many Stamps on one envelope in my life, so who is it from and what are they want ?
Chairman
It appears that they are following up on an idea that originated from a Film Script Writer in America who came up with an Idea of writing a short Film Script he Calls "Children Seeking World Peace" The writer posted it on line and some of the Country Leaders around the World liked the idea so that they implemented it.
Carrier
Implement what ?
Chairman
Every Country in the World picked two Young Students from one of their schools a boy and a girl to represent their Country and are asking for a "SPECIAL UNITED NATION'S MEETING" that will be attended by all of the Leaders in the World but this is the Catch.
The adults are not to speak at this meeting, only the Children will be allowed to speak at this Special meeting called"CHILDREN SEEKING WORLD PEACE"
Carrier
Wow, I see what you mean when you said an unusual request and that is comes from an unusual source you were right about that.
Chairman
There's more this request gets even more stranger they are requesting that we install a large garden area next to the United Nation Building before this meeting takes place that we don't plant anything in the garden area just leave it bare dirt, there are to be small signs placed every two feet next to the rows in this garden area with the names of each Country in the World next to each one of these signs there will also be a watering can containing water.
Carrier
Do you think that the Board will consider this bizarr & unusual request ?
Chairman
Yes I do after all these are the Children of the World, the next Generation seeking the opportunity for them to be part of the Peace Process from their Generation and we should give them the opportunity to do so.
Scene Two;
We see the inside of the United Nations building where many young children are standing paired off one boy and one girl facing all of the Adult Leaders from around the World these Children are from all walks of life all different nationalities and all dressed differently.
Every Girl is holding a small pot containing a different flower in it in one hand and a small shovel in their other hand.
Each Boy is holding a small pot containing a different kind of plant in one hand and a small shovel in his other hand.
(all of these flowers and plants are beautiful and very colorful)
Every Boy & Girl from their Country are wearing Name tags with their Countries names on the tags. The Children are just standing there in silence.
The inside of this building is silent at first then we hear whispers coming from the Adult Leaders, what is this all about, what do they want, this is strange.
Next we see a girl step forward from the row of children following behind her is another girl and a boy they are all three standing there for a minute and the room gets silent.
Then the boy speaks,
I have been chosen to speak on behalf of all of the Children in this room. We are standing here before all of you representing the Worlds Next Generation, Your Worlds Next Generation. We only have a few words to say to all of you here today.
All of us had several things that we wanted to say to all of you today but we all decided that words are not enough without all of Our WORLD LEADERS making a Solid Commitment to end all Wars in Our World Today ! ! !
So, we only have three words to say to all of you here today... " PLEASE JUST STOP"
(one of the girls standing next to this young boy translates this message in all languages)
The three young children stand there for a minute in silence then one of the two girls step forward she says, we only have one more request to ask from all of you in this building today, please follow us to the garden area located just outside this building.
(the other girl translates this request in all languages)
The other children in the building follow the three children exiting the building followed by the Adults.
Third Scene;
We see all of the children lined up still holding their flowers and plants in one hand and their shovels in their other hand they are paired off one boy and one girl standing along side of the garden rows facing their Countries signs that are placed in two foot sections of their Special Garden.
(we see all of the Adult Leaders standing around this garden in groups whispering to each other we can't make out what they are saying to each other but they have a confused look on their faces)
Next the same Girl that spoke earlier in the building is holding a flower in one hand and a small shovel in her other hand says, I would like all of the Adult Leaders from their Countries to stand in front of their Countries signs facing each of us. (translated by the girl standing next to this girl)
The Adult Leaders line up in front of their Countries garden signs facing these children then every child bends down at the same time and digs a small hole in the ground in their two foot section of this Special Garden. (each two foot garden section now has two small holes dug in them and everyone is silent)
Next we see the same girl that spoke earlier stand up after digging her hole in the garden she hands her Adult Counter Part Leader her Potted Flower and says, each one of these Flowers that all of us has brought here today Represent WORLD PEACE for Our Future.
she continues..
All of the Children Around the World requested this SPECIAL UNITED NATIONS MEETING to beg all of the Leaders of Our world to help us Plant our Flowers here today to end all Wars in our World Immediately and all of the Plants that the Boys brought here today represent Commitment To Do So.
(translated again by the girl standing next to her)
Next we see the Boy that spoke earlier at the meeting hand his Adult Counter Part his potted plant then the Girl that is speaking looks over at all of the other Children that are still standing next to their garden and she nodes her head.
Then, All of the Children say the words together, in their own languages in a loud & begging tone."PLEASE JUST STOP"
Next, We see all of the Children reach in their pockets, pull out a small bag and pour out a few of seeds into each of their Adult Counter Parts hands.
The Girl speaker then says,
we are giving all of you our seeds to take home with you so you can plant them in your gardens as a reminder of your Commitment all of you made here today to; END ALL WARS In Our World IMMEDIATELY..THESE SEEDS ALSO REPRESENT FORGIVENESS for without forgiveness there can be no PEACE, so please pass these seeds on to your transgressor so the Peace Process can begin. (translated by the girl standing next to her)
Last Scene
We see all of the Adult Leaders bent down next to the Children planting the Children's Flowers & Plants together in their"Special World Peace Garden" Located in Front Of the "UNITED NATIONS BUILDING"
Fade Out..
Written by, Michael V. Caldwell, Always Striving To Be Part Of The Solution, Using Respect & Common Sense As My Guidelines To Follow At All Times...
Respectfully,Thank all of You, for taking the time to read this IMPORTANT & Very Badly Needed message.
"DREAM BIG DO BIG"
________________________________________________________________________________________
All Countries Have A Choice Of What Kind Of Road They Build Together & What Kind Of Road They Build Will Determine Where That Road Takes Them.
"ROAD TO PEACE" (film short story)
Opening Scene: (filmed in black & white, silent film)
We see an old Soldier walking down a dirt road with a machine gun under his arm
and carrying his young son on his shoulders.
The young boy and his father are dressed in their combat clothing and the boy
also has a machine gun gun tucked under his arm, suddenly they stop.
(our camera pans to a person sitting on a large rock on the side of the road)
We see the back of this person only, the person is wearing a black hooded robe
with their hood raised up.
(we pan back to the old soldier and his son)
The old soldier places his son on the road then pushes him in the direction
of the hooded stranger.
The young boy walks cautiously up to the stranger with his gun drawn
upwards as he gets closer we notice the person is small in stature then the boy
points
the gun at the back of the strangers head.
The stranger turns around slowly then we see it is a young girl, the girl
is the same age as the boy.
The young girl places a daisy in the barrel of the boy's gun.
(at that instant our film changes to color and remains in color)
Next, we see they young boy standing there with a blank look on his face he
then drops the gun on the ground, the gun vanishes and where the gun was we see
three books there instead.
The boy picks up the books curiously, then turns and looks in the direction
where his father was with an astonishment look.
(we show a close-up on boys face then we pan our camera to the father)
The boy's father is now standing there dressed in a white shirt and slacks and
holding sets of plans tucked under his arm in the place of a gun.
(we pan back to boy and girl)
We see the boy standing there dressed in the same attire as his father, with
three books tucked under his arm in place of his gun staring at the girl that
is still sitting on the rock, the girl has long curly brown hair and is now
wearing white clothing, she also has three books sitting next to her.
Closing Scene:
We see the backs of all three of them walking down the road towards the setting
sun, the boy and the girl are holding hands both of them carrying three books
tucked under their arms.
The father has three sets of building plans tucked under his arm and is walking
with his head up high..
Fade Out End...Or Beginning Of A Brighter Badly Needed Future For Our World.
It is a shame she was shot, but HUH? Why is it when an American fires a misguided shot we have to apologize to the world when the Taliban etc. just blasts away and says Screw You. They should be eliminated, every last one of them, and it could be done if we had any balls instead of a President who apologizes for everything.
I've got to have some coffee and hard boiled eggs my guts just cabled me it's time. be with you all later.
For the life of me, I never would have imagined I would have ever seen a story on NBC a story showing Islam in a negative light.
Let's all jot down what we were doing in this once in a lifetime event!
I was sitting at my desk drinking coffee just before I turned on my radio.
What were you doing?
I hope she survives and makes a full recovery.
This beautiful, intelligent and strong young woman has made more of a contribution to this world in her so far short life, then anyone in modern memory. To be so young, yet so wise is truely a blessing and a curse.
She will lead her country one day.
I thionk if all Muslims were like these ultra-zealous Taliban, they would have already taken over the world, given that there are over 1.5 BILLION of them.
The majority of Muslims are good peacful people, just as the majority of Christians are. To judge all Muslims based on the behavior of a few idiots is no different than judging all Christians on the behavior of the zealots of that group - and there have been more than a "few".
Yes, seek out and rid the world of the Taliban, but let's not throw 1.5 billion good people in with the few bad ones.
It is strange that the same people here saying "dirty dirty Muslims, wish they would all disappear" are the same people who are wishing this girl well, who is a Muslim.
I don't know how many literate and reasonably intelligent people read these postings. As to any that do, I would pose the question: Is the primary problem the Taliban in Pakistan or the hateful, bigoted, violent, foul and inhumane extremism evidenced in many of the postings. They talk of "'extermination" and "killing all Muslims" and other references that are as bad as the behavior of the Taliban. And they do it out of some false notion that they are "patriotic" or "righteous." They hide their spewing of bile behind "free speech."
I often wonder whether these posting blogs serve any purpose other than to lower the moral standards of the US. Perhaps @Big Bob [he is certainly not the only one here] and others really do reflect the diminished intelligence and tattered moral fiber of this nation, or maybe they are just loudmouthed imbeciles given a public soapbox [anonymous] to spread hate. In either case, the real challenge is not the Taliban, but rather to resist the Taliban-like attitudes of closed-minded and ignorant hate in our midst. If you doubt my premise, consider that some gun nut shot at the Obama campaign office in Colorado while there were people in the office. Then explain why failure to resist such hateful extremism is not a problem.
Thank you! Underground Sanity 2.
By the way, I've seen many comments here about foreign aid to these countires, blaming Obama, Bush, etc.
For DECADES now folks, our government has been trying to barter "peace" with thugs from many walks of life by trying to pay them off. Pakistan is included in this. We refer to it as foreign aid, like the money somehow goes to feed the starving people in these countries, but it is simply bribery money, that just comes back to haunt us years later when it becomes public knowledge that we have been funding one despot ruler or another.
Time for us to stop that crap, and go back to walking softly but carrying the big stick. Let the idiots kill each other off, free of charge to us.
Pak is a barbaric region where animals are shooting young girls, stoning death women, and hacking policeman's heads, and kidnapping people, and torching police cars, bombing their own buildings and people. Yet the authority is corrupted and having nukes. It's a perfect condition for hell rising. It's a waste land.
Let them clean nuke it out themselves to their heaven. We'll come in and build a Giant 1000 square mile Space Center to send hundreds of thousand robots to Mars. It's more productive to Pak people.
Thank you Underground Sanity 2, you said it way more eloquently than I did. Good to see some reasonable people still exist in the world.
Amazing how countries like Pakistan always castigate the West, but when it comes to medical care it's a different story.
Best Wishes for her speedy recovery. She has done the people of her country great service. I hope that she will be safer in the UK from further attack.
It really shows that this young girl has FAR more courage then the entire Pakistani government. What a bunch of douchbags.