Rep. Gabrielle Giffords returned to the U.S. House of Representatives for the first time since she was shot in Tucson on January 8, 2011.
Her colleagues gave her a well-deserved standing ovation. It was really an incredible moment.
The fact that she survived such a terrible injury and was able to return to the House is miraculous.
Video.
Giffords cast her vote on the debt ceiling deal, her first vote since the attack.
Video.
Read Giffords' statement on the vote.
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The White House played up Giffords' return to Washington.
Her appearance was quite a secret. I wonder why.
There's something that concerns me.
It's this:
Pia Carusone, Giffords' chief of staff, has indicated that while the congresswoman is able to speak and walk, she remains a shadow of her former self.
...In an interview published Thursday in the Arizona Republic, Carusone said Giffords can express her basic wants and needs, but has difficulty stringing together sentences to verbalize more complex thoughts and feelings. Giffords, she said, relies on hand gestures and facial expressions.
"She is borrowing upon other ways of communicating. Her words are back more and more now, but she's still using facial expressions as a way to express. Pointing. Gesturing," Carusone said.
The description matches what experts expect from someone who has suffered a traumatic brain injury. Often, they can be easily disoriented, have trouble prioritizing, suffer from some memory loss and could have difficulty recognizing people. Some have difficulty doing several tasks at the same time.
Most cognitive recovery occurs in the first six months to a year after an injury, though it becomes less noticeable as time progresses. In the second year, progress sharply drops.
Carusone said if Giffords' recovery were to plateau now, "it would not be nearly the quality of life she had before."
That was on June 12, 2011, relatively recently.
"She remains a shadow of her former self."
"Giffords can express her basic wants and needs, but has difficulty stringing together sentences to verbalize more complex thoughts and feelings. Giffords, she said, relies on hand gestures and facial expressions."
Has Giffords improved dramatically since then?
I sincerely hope that's the case. I wish her a complete recovery.
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Tweets from Giffords, retweeted by the White House:
Gabrielle has returned to Washington to support a bipartisan bill to prevent economic crisis. Turn on C-SPAN now: http://t.co/ddhmVMB
The #Capitol looks beautiful and I am honored to be at work tonight.
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