Gabrielle Giffords Shooting: First Interview Since Near-Death Attack
Ten months after being shot in the head, Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords has given her first television interview with ABC’s Diane Sawyer Monday.
The gunman Jared Loughner, 23, went on a shooting rampage that wounded 19 people and left six people dead outside of a Safeway supermarket parking lot. Mark Kelly, Giffords husband, has been at her side from the hospital to her physical therapy sessions.
He understands that his job-going forward-is to “make sure she can get better so she can go back to her career."
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The retired astronaut dismissed the idea that he would run for her seat if she were not ready when elections take place.
When asked if she would want to resume her position in congress, Giffords’ replied: “Better. No better.”
Her husband then helped her finish the thought: “She wants to get better.”
During the interview, her enthusiasm could be seen through her eyes. Although she still has difficulty forming complete sentences or holding detailed conversations, but in time, medical experts are confidant, that she will make a full recovery.
"Gabby Giffords is too tough to let this beat her," Kelly said.
Her husband has been documenting the whole recovery. Kelly said he knew she was going to astonish her skeptics.
Giffords has undergone intensive therapy with daily sessions lasting two hours.
During some moments of the video, you could see how hard the recovery is for Giffords. One clip shows her sobbing in her therapist's arms at Houston's TIRR Memorial Hermann hospital.
"Can I tell you something? It is going to get better," said her therapist at one point. "You've come a long way in five weeks."
Giffords is shown becoming more upbeat and smiling more frequently. She now walks with a limp and can talk, though she usually speaks in halting or sporadic phrases, or repeats a word to get her point across.
At one point, Sawyer asked Kelly about hope.
"You can't have too much hope, right? It's not a practical thing to do." Kelly replied.
