Gabrielle Giffords, Mark Kelly Plan to Attend Final Shuttle Launch in Florida in July
Don't be surprised to see wheelchair-aided Giffords venturing out more often.
HOUSTON, June 28, 2011 — -- Don't be surprised to see the wheelchair-aided Rep. Gabrielle Giffords venturing out in public more often, if her unexpected appearance in Houston at an awards event Monday night was any indication.
She and her husband, Cmdr. Mark Kelly, plan to attend the final space shuttle launch in Florida in July, for instance, according to a source.
When the former astronaut wheeled his wife into the packed auditorium at Space Center Houston Monday night, the crowd of hundreds stood up and gave her a spontaneous ovation that lasted for several minutes. She looked frail in person, but her joy at the heartfelt, loving response from the audience was evident. She smiled and waved at the crowd.
Her husband sat next to her in the front row, and she watched with happiness and pride as he handed out awards to the teams at the Johnson Space Center who made space shuttle Endeavour's last mission such a success. When it was time for Kelly to receive his Spaceflight Medal, she glowed with joy. When he returned to his seat, she stood up and hugged him, and they kissed.
His devotion to her was apparent to the hundreds of people in the room; they held hands during the rest of the awards, laughed at the jokes.
The Endeavour crew is a second family, and they were all supportive of Kelly as he juggled training for his demanding mission and caring for his injured wife.
Giffords, an Arizona Democrat, wore glasses, with her hair much shorter than the photos released earlier this month. She was wearing a light-colored shirt, with a scarf, and jeans and sneakers.
It was her first public appearance in front of a crowd since being shot in the head Jan. 8, rising from her wheelchair when she hugged and kissed her husband.
Giffords appeared to chat with people sitting around her, and laughed when the crew of STS-134, the Space Shuttle Endeavour's last mission, was introduced. Kelly commanded the mission.
Giffords left during home movies of the crew, shown during the event.
The Spaceflight Medal is awarded to shuttle astronauts who return safely from their missions.
Giffords, shot in the head at a meet-and-greet event with constituents in Tucson, Ariz., Jan. 8, was released from TIRR Memorial Hermann Hospital in Houston on June 15 after showing months of "clear, continuous improvement," a hospital spokesman said. She continues to be an outpatient at the hospital.
Jared Loughner allegedly opened fire at the Giffords event, where six people were killed and 13 were injured, including Giffords.
Earlier this month, the first pictures of Giffords since the shooting were released on the congresswoman's public Facebook page.
The milestone photos of Giffords were taken by a professional photographer one day after she marked another milestone in her recovery, traveling from Houston to Florida to watch the May 17 launch of the Space Shuttle Endeavor, captained by her husband.
The photos were the public's first look at Giffords since April 27 when she was seen boarding a plane to Florida.
The day after the shuttle launch, May 18, Giffords was back in Houston, undergoing the surgery to replace a piece of her skull. The injury Giffords received when she was shot in her left forehead led to brain swelling, which required the removal of a portion of her skull to relieve pressure.
As the pictures were released, Giffords' chief of staff Pia Carusone said the congresswoman still was struggling to regain her previous level of communication.
"Her words are back more and more now, but she's still using facial expressions as a way to express," Carusone said. "But when it comes to a bigger and more complex thought that requires words, that's where she's had the trouble."
ABC News' Michael S. James, Bob Woodruff and Leezel Tanglao, and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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