NEW : Hospital releases first photographs of Malala since she was admitted for treatment . Malala understands where she is and wants to thank people for their support , hospital says . Malala is communicating through written notes ; she ca n't talk because of a tracheotomy tube . She has been in the intensive care unit at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham since Sunday night after being shot by Taliban gunmen on her way home from school.
NEW : Hospital releases first photographs of Malala since she was admitted for treatment . Malala understands where she is and wants to thank people for their support , hospital says . Malala is communicating through written notes ; she ca n't talk because of a tracheotomy tube . She was shot after she defied the Taliban by insisting on girls ' right to education .