Pakistani teen activist Malala Yousafzai took a big step forward in her recovery. On Thursday, the British hospital at which she’s been treated for gunshot wounds after being gunned down by the Taliban nearly four months ago, discharged Yousafzai after a recent surgery to repair her skull and restore her hearing.
In a recorded video statement following last week’s surgery, Yousafzai said, “It does not feel like I had a very big operation.” Yet doctors worked for more than five hours to repair the portion of her skull damaged in the point-blank shooting. Doctors pronounced both operations, which included fitting a custom-made titanium plate to her skull and a cochlear implant to her left ear, a success. Yousafzai will continue her recovery while living at her family’s temporary home in Birmingham.
“God has given me this new life,” Yousafzai said in a statement recorded prior to the surgery. “I want to serve, serve the people, I want every girl, every child to be educated.” The Malala Fund has been established in her name, and Yousafzai will help direct the funds in an international education rights effort.
Erin Delmore