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Trying to protect her fragile state, staff and family members didn't let her know that six had perished in the Jan. 8 attack, including one of her most trusted staff members and a federal judge who was a close friend. Just weeks ago, Giffords found out the truth, delaying a grief process the rest of the country had gone through months before. On Saturday, a Giffords' staffer confirmed that the Democratic politician was told by her husband in late July that those who passed away included her close aide Gabe Zimmerman; U.S. District Judge John Roll, a close friend; and 9-year-old Christina-Taylor Green. The Arizona Republic first reported those details early Saturday.
News of who the victims were came to Giffords just days before her surprise Aug. 1 appearance on Capitol Hill to vote on the federal debt ceiling. Her loved ones had been keeping the scope of the tragedy from her until she was strong enough to handle it. "She knew for some time that six people had died and 13 were injured, including herself," said Mark Kimble, who is Giffords' new spokesman. "In late July, shortly before she went to Washington, she wanted to know more information, specifically about who had died. That's when her husband told her." According to Kimble, only Giffords and her husband, newly retired astronaut Mark Kelly, were in the room when the congresswoman learned of the names of the six who died. Later, Giffords gave her personal condolences to Zimmerman's father during a brief telephone conversation on Aug. 7, the Republic reported Saturday.
"It wasn't very long, but it covered important things," Ross Zimmerman told the newspaper. "She said she felt awful about Gabe." The man charged in the rampage in Tucson, Jared Lee Loughner, has been at a federal prison facility in Springfield, Mo., since late May after a federal judge concluded he was mentally incompetent to stand trial. Loughner, 22, has pleaded not guilty to 49 charges. Mental health experts have determined he suffers from schizophrenia. Meanwhile, the return of Giffords to Washington to cast a vote on debt-ceiling legislation fueled speculation about whether she'll seek re-election next year or run for a U.S. Senate seat.
Giffords, 41, hasn't yet publicly revealed her plans for the future. She has been undergoing physical, occupational and speech therapy in Houston as part of her rehabilitation. Ross Zimmerman recalled from his recent phone conversation with Giffords that "she still has some trouble with language, but there is no question that she can get her point across and her comprehension is 100 percent. "When she gets excited or stressed, it's harder for her to put words together in sentences," Zimmerman told the Republic. "That's the thing that she has the most trouble with. She's having to relearn language, and that's tough. She's having to learn how to write with her left hand at this point. And now, she's having to start the grieving process that the rest of us started back in January."
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Since she was shot in the head Jan. 8 at an event outside Tucson, Ariz., the congresswoman has appeared in public only a few times. She has spoken only with friends, family and at small gatherings. Giffords is living with husband Mark Kelly in Houston, where she continues therapy at TIRR Memorial Hermann hospital, learning anew to walk and talk. Mark Kimble, a spokesman for Giffords in Tucson, confirmed Wednesday that Giffords had completed the recording of the final chapter.
The couple's memoir, Gabby: A Story of Courage and Hope, has been highly anticipated because Giffords has appeared so little in public and few details have been released about her recovery. The book details the couple's courtship and marriage, Giffords' political career, Kelly's career as an astronaut, and their experiences during and after the shooting, according to Scribner, the publisher. The book is scheduled for release Nov. 15. Scribner could not be reached for comment about the book Wednesday evening. The cover of the audio-book version, which is available for pre-order online, displays the same photo of Giffords and Kelly, hugging before their 2007 wedding in Amado, as the hardback. It also bears a secondary title that says, "Read by Mark Kelly with a final chapter read by Gabrielle Giffords."
Giffords and Kelly collaborated on the book with Wall Street Journal columnist Jeffrey Zaslow, who co-wrote "The Last Lecture" with Carnegie Mellon professor Randy Pausch, who died of cancer in 2008. Elaine Richardson can't wait to hear the audio book. Giffords' longtime friend from Tucson and former state senator says people are eager for news of Giffords' recovery, particularly in Tucson, where residents still are dealing with the aftermath of the tragedy. "I think any contact with Gabby, even just hearing her voice, would be fabulous," Richardson says. "I know, as her friend, I can't wait to see her again, and I know there are a lot of people who don't know her as well feel just as strongly."
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Giffords should have resigned her seat.
Did you both think that Strom Thurmond should have retired toward the end, when he didn't seem to to know where he was?Giffords should have resigned her seat.
I agree. She should step down. We don't know how truly competent she is. Being shot in the brain will clearly effect her decisions, voting etc.
Did you both think that Strom Thurmond should have retired toward the end, when he didn't seem to to know where he was?Giffords should have resigned her seat.
I agree. She should step down. We don't know how truly competent she is. Being shot in the brain will clearly effect her decisions, voting etc.
Did you both think that Strom Thurmond should have retired toward the end, when he didn't seem to to know where he was?I agree. She should step down. We don't know how truly competent she is. Being shot in the brain will clearly effect her decisions, voting etc.
Him and probably a dozen others...........
did you both think that strom thurmond should have retired toward the end, when he didn't seem to to know where he was?giffords should have resigned her seat.
i agree. She should step down. We don't know how truly competent she is. Being shot in the brain will clearly effect her decisions, voting etc.
Giffords' office says in a statement Sunday that the Arizona congresswoman is expected to spend time with a therapist who has worked with her in Houston for the last several months and has been extensively involved in her therapy.
Giffords will work with the therapist from Monday through Nov. 4 in Asheville, N.C. No other specifics on her therapy were given. Her staff says the trip is strictly rehabilitation-related and has been planned for several months.
No public appearances or events are scheduled. Giffords is recovering from a brain injury suffered on Jan. 8 in Tucson. Six people were killed and 13 were wounded, including Giffords.
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Giffords should have resigned her seat.
I agree. She should step down. We don't know how truly competent she is. Being shot in the brain will clearly effect her decisions, voting etc.
The memoir, titled "Gabby: A Story of Courage and Hope," is the most personal and detailed look yet at Giffords' efforts over the past 10 months to relearn how to walk and talk, and her painful discovery that six people were killed in the Jan. 8 attack outside a Tucson grocery store. The Associated Press purchased an advance copy of the book. It is set for release Nov. 15. The book is written by Giffords' husband, former astronaut Mark Kelly, but Giffords delivers the last chapter a single page of short sentences and phrases called "Gabby's Voice" in which she says her goal is to get back to Congress. "I will get stronger. I will return," she wrote. Giffords, 40, stunned colleagues by appearing on the House floor Aug. 1 to vote for the debt ceiling deal, but she has largely avoided the public eye, focusing most of her time on her recovery at TIRR Memorial Hermann, a rehabilitation center in Houston.
In the book, Kelly recalls trying to tell his wife several times that she had been shot in the head while meeting constituents. But she didn't fully understand until March 12. Kelly asked Giffords if she remembered being shot, and she replied that she did. When he asked what she remembered about it, she said three words: "Shot. Shocked. Scary." Later that day, Kelly was reading to her from a New York Times article about her recovery and skipped over a paragraph that said six others were killed. Giffords had been following along and knew he left something out. She pushed him to tell her what it was. After she learned of the deaths, Giffords was overcome with emotion and had trouble getting through her therapy. That night as they lay in bed, she told Kelly that she felt awful about the deaths. He held her as she cried.
Six months later, after being released from the Houston hospital to Kelly's home 25 miles away, Giffords wanted to know who had been killed. He warned her that it would be tough on her because she knew two of the victims. He started by telling her that her staff member Gabe Zimmerman died, which caused her to moan and cry in a wave of emotion. Then he told her about her friend, federal Judge John Roll, and the four other people she didn't know. Finally, he told her that Christina Taylor-Green, a 9-year-old girl born on Sept. 11, 2001, was among the dead.
Kelly recounted the agonizing moments when several media outlets inaccurately reported that Giffords was dead. He grew more hopeful after learning she was alive and being treated at a Tucson hospital. When Kelly first saw Giffords after the shooting, she was in a coma, with her head partially shaved and bandaged, her face black and blue, and her body connected to tubes. He told her he loved her and that she was going to survive. He also describes the early days in Giffords' recovery in Texas, saying the darkest moment came when Giffords panicked after realizing she couldn't talk. Her eyes were wide with fear, and she was crying uncontrollably as Kelly tried to comfort her and assure her that she would get better.
More AP Exclusive: Giffords vows return to Congress - Yahoo! News
The 41-year-old congresswoman was seated with her husband, astronaut Mark Kelly, as she spoke with ABC's Diane Sawyer for an interview that will air Monday. A preview was broadcast Thursday on "World News."
Giffords was wearing a yellow top with gold buttons and dark eyeglasses. Her brown hair has grown out since it was shaved after the shooting. When Sawyer asked how she felt, Giffords said, "Pretty good." She also said her recovery was "difficult."
Giffords is recovering from a brain injury she suffered Jan. 8 when a gunman opened fire outside a Tucson, Ariz., supermarket. Six people were killed and 13 were wounded, including Giffords.
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So she came back to vote on a bill where she missed all the discussion and quite probably never read the bill itself.
I don't think that's something to be happy about.
Said: " I had to be here for this vote. I couldn't take the chance that my absence could crash our economy "
Regardless if you agree with her or not she is a champion and deserves everyone's respect. Welcome back Gabby and god bless.
Giffords should have resigned her seat.
I agree. She should step down. We don't know how truly competent she is. Being shot in the brain will clearly effect her decisions, voting etc.
