Gabrielle Giffords: ‘I Want to Get Back to Work’

P.K. Weis/Giffords Campaign/Getty Images

In new audio message posted to her Facebook page, Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, who was shot in the head from three feet away by an assailant on Jan. 8 at a Tucson shopping center, tells her constituents today, “I want to get back to work.”

“Hello this is Gabby Giffords,” the audio recording begins. “I miss you, I miss Tucson, the mountains, blue skies, even the heat.”

Giffords, D-Ariz., who was featured in an exclusive report detailing her recovery on ABC News’ ’20/20,’ says, “I’m getting stronger. I’m getting better.”

In the message, the three-term congresswoman refers to the other victims in the shooting and pledges to improve her language skills to better express her feelings about the event.

“It has been a hard year – for all of us. Thinking of that day makes me sad. Six people died. Six innocent people. So many people hurt,” Giffords says. “There is lot to say. I will speak better.”

Since the tragic shooting, Giffords has returned to Congress just once to vote in favor of the deal to increase the debt limit on Aug. 2.

Near the end of her message, Giffords reveals that she wants to return to Congress and says that her staff has kept her informed on her constituents’ behalf.

“I want to get back to work. Representing Arizona is my honor,” she says. “I miss you, I miss home. I will see you real soon.”

Giffords’ journey to recovery is chronicled in “Gabby: A Story of Courage and Hope,” a book co-authored by her husband, Mark Kelly, and released today.