Rep. Gabrielle Giffords Talking but No Memory of Being Shot
She has no memory of the Ariz. shooting but has been told by her husband.
March 11, 2011 — -- Rep. Gabrielle Giffords is speaking in full sentences, though she has no memory of being shot in the head.
Doctors at TIRR Memorial Hermann Rehabilitation Hospital in Houston provided more information on the Arizona congresswoman who was critically injured during an alleged assassination attempt Jan. 8 at a news conference this morning.
Giffords' breathing tube will be removed next week and her ability to walk with assistance has improved. Music therapy also has helped Giffords find her voice.
"I'm very happy to report that she's making leaps and bounds in terms of neurological recovery," said Dr. Dong Kim.
Giffords' husband, astronaut Mark Kelly, has told her why she is in the hospital but did not tell her about the six killed and 12 others injured at the Tucson grocery store event.
"She has a personality that's already showing through," Kim said. "She's very upbeat, focused on getting better. ... She's just been very forward looking and, even with the speech, she's not showing much frustration."
Doctors said there was a good possibility Giffords would be able to attend next month's launch of the space shuttle Endeavour piloted by her husband.
The April 19 mission likely will be Endeavour's last and perhaps the last time any of the three remaining U.S. space shuttles will be sent to space.
Arrangements are being made to host Giffords in the family viewing area at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., sources told ABC News.
"It is a goal that we are working towards," said CJ Karamargin, a Giffords spokesman, "and we certainly hope that she will be there."
'Gabby Is Working Hard'
It is unlikely that the public will see Giffords at the launch unless officials want her to be seen. NASA has kept the astronauts' families far away from the media since the Challenger accident.
"Gabby is working hard every day and making remarkable progress so chances are good that she'll be there," Giffords' chief of staff Pia Caruson told ABC News.
The suspect in the shooting spree that injured Giffords, Jared Loughner, 22, was arraigned earlier in the week on 49 new federal charges.
ABC News' Russell Goldman and Gina Sunseri, and The Associated Press contributed to this story.