Giffords attends husband's retirement ceremony

— -- She couldn't clap because her right hand is bandaged, and her walk is still unsteady. But when Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., sat near the vice president and her mother-in-law at her husband's retirement ceremony Thursday, she smiled, blew kisses, waved to friends and a message was clear: She's getting better.

"You look good Gabby … I look forward to welcoming you back, kiddo," Vice President Biden said. "You've been an inspiration to thousands of people."

It's not every day "you see the sheer, sheer courage, selflessness and dedication like you see in this couple," he said.

Family, luminaries and friends gathered with Giffords, 41, for the ceremony marking the end of her husband Mark Kelly's 25-year military career, which included service as an astronaut and a Navy captain.

It was one of the few public appearances by Giffords since she suffered a gunshot wound to the head Jan. 8 during a mass shooting at a constituent event at a Tucson shopping center.

Six people were killed and 12 others were wounded.

Biden administered the retirement oath to Kelly, 47, at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building and invited Giffords to attach the Distinguished Flying Cross medal to Kelly's uniform.

Wearing a burgundy blazer and black pants, she leaned on Kelly, and reached her left hand up to his jacket, where a velcro patch was waiting. Since the shooting, use of her right hand is limited, and her staffers thought that wrangling a pin could be difficult.

Kelly took the opportunity to thank his wife, his voice catching in his throat as he leaned forward on a lectern and spoke: "Gabby, you remind me everyday to deny the acceptance of failure," he said, adding that he was jealous of her "true grit and determination."

Kelly escorted her into the ceremony, clutching her left hand. She required assistance to sit and get up from her chair. She walked with a limp, favoring her left side and holding her right arm stiffly next to her. There is a brace on her right shoulder that extends down to her right hand where a bandage is visible, said her chief of staff, Pia Carusone. Giffords wore an enormous smile.

Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., Giffords' close friend , also attended and continues to be encouraged by Giffords' recovery.

"Every time I see her, there's always progress," Wasserman Schultz said in an interview Wednesday. "I've seen her 10 times since the shooting, and every time, it's a big step."

In the beginning, when she first started talking, …it was only 'thank you,' and gradually, her phrases have gotten more complex," Wasserman Schulz said.

In the beginning, Giffords required a wheelchair, and now walks alone. Giffords' doctors say that continued improvement is crucial: as long as patients with injuries such as hers do not plateau, there is hope for more progress.

Giffords did not grant any interviews Thursday. She did not plan to stop by her office or conduct any official business.

"She's not there as a member of Congress," said Mark Kimble, Giffords' senior press adviser. "She's there to support her husband, who is retiring."