I found this in a story from the AP~http://www.news4jax.com/news/26413784/detail.html#

"Surgeons said a bullet went through Gabby Giffords' head on the left side of the brain, but she is still able to respond nonverbally to commands such as squeezing a hand or showing two fingers.They credited several reasons for her survival, including good luck and the fact that paramedics got her to surgeons quickly- in under 40 minutes ".