THE US CONGRESSWOMAN who was shot in the head and seriously injured in January 2011 has made her first televised interview since the incident, but indicated she would not be returning to politics until she was “better”.
Giffords has made astonishing recovery since sustaining a severe brain injury in the gun attack in which six people were killed and another 12 injured while meeting constituents outside a grocery store in Tucson, Arizona.
Appearing on ABC alongside her husband astronaut Mark Kelly yesterday, Giffords appeared to have difficulty stringing her sentences together and said that the recovery process has been “difficult”.
Describing her emotions after the shooting, Giffords said “I cried” and “a lot of people died”.
When asked if she felt angry about what happened to her, she replied: “No, no, no. Life, life.”
Both she and Kelly expressed concern that the man facing trial for the shooting, Jared Lee Loughner, did not receive treatment or help ahead of the attack.
Kelly said to ABC’s Good Morning America programme today that Giffords is still making progress. Although she wants to run for reelection, Kelly said she “hasn’t made the decision yet” on whether to seek another term. However, he said he would n0t be standing in her place if she does not run next year.
In June, the congresswoman’s chief of staff Pia Carusone said that her progress had been slower than suggested by some media reports and that she would spend the rest of her life recovering from the shooting.
ABC outlines the injuries Giffords suffered in this video, which includes clips Gifford’s husband filmed through her recovery and therapy:
- Additional reporting by the AP
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