A poster outside of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords office in Tucson, Ariz., wishes her well Sunday, Jan. 16, 2011. Makeshift memorials have sprouted up around Tucson for the victims of the Jan. 8 shooting that killed six people and injured 13, including Giffords. (AP Photo/Susan Montoya Bryan)TUCSON, Ariz. – U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords has surmounted one hurdle after another since she was gravely wounded in the Arizona shootings. Her latest was especially significant – a condition upgrade from critical to serious.
Her doctors’ decision Sunday was yet another sign of a remarkable recovery since she was shot in the head Jan. 8 when a gunman opened fire as she met constituents in a Tucson supermarket parking lot. Six people were killed and 13 were wounded, including the congresswoman.
Giffords is now able to move around well enough that she gave Kelly a back rub from her hospital bed, he told ABC’s Diane Sawyer in an interview that will air Tuesday.
“(It is) so typical of her. She’s in the ICU. You know, gone through this traumatic injury. And she spent 10 minutes giving me a neck massage,” Kelly explained. “I keep tellin’ her. I’m like, ‘Gabby, you’re in the ICU. You know, you don’t need – you know, you don’t need to be doin’ this.’ But it’s so typical of her that no matter how bad the situation might be for her, you know, she’s lookin’ out for other people.”
The gesture seemed to comfort Giffords and shows that his wife is improving and that her spirit and their personal bond remain strong, he said.