Gabrielle Giffords

Yesterday marked the one-year anniversary of the Tuscon shooting in Arizona, where an assassination attempt was made on congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords (Rep. D-AZ) at a public event while she met with her constituents. Six other people were killed in the shooting, and Giffords herself was seriously wounded when she suffered a gunshot wound to the head. Fortunately, the shooter was prevented by the crowd from killing or injuring any more people.

It was the morning of the 9th of January when I found out, and I clearly remember the moment when I first heard about what had happened. We had just spent a night in a new house, and I was tuning my radio: I caught some news on one of the stations to hear that Giffords had been shot in her head, and was not likely to survive her wounds. I was shocked, as Giffords was not someone whom I had expected to have such a tragedy happen to them. I originally learnt about her in 2009, and ultimately came to have respect for her; she was among the politicians I hoped would be re-elected in 2010, and I was delighted to hear that she had been.

She had overcome a difficult re-election...only to be shot in the head two months later. The prognosis was bleak at first: direct gunshots to the head are rarely survivable (from what I have read the chances of survival are about 5%), and less so when fired at point-blank range as what happened to Giffords. However, she was incredibly lucky with where the bullet hit her: from what I understand, if the bullet had been even just slightly away from its angle of entry into her head, she would have been paralyzed or killed.

Even though Giffords survived the shot and was treated for it in time, she did receive brain damage: her vision, speech, movement, and reading/writing abilities have all been seriously affected; still, her recovery has been astounding, and has exceeded expectations. Her comprehension is still intact, and she has not lost her personality nor the bright, unique smile that she is known for. In some videos I watched about her recovery during the time of her first interview since the shooting, it was said that she was aware of and could understand everything going on around her; she also knew what she wanted to say to people, but had trouble saying it. I did find it upsetting to see the juxtaposition of her giving speeches to crowds with her having trouble speaking, but at the same time it was encouraging to see her improving from her injury.

My respect for Giffords has increased since the shooting, and her strength and courage throughout the whole ordeal have both been extraordinary. However, I have also been impressed with her husband, Mark Kelly, for his support of her through it all and being by her side most of the time. I thought it was remarkable that he was willing to forgo commanding one of the final space shuttle missions to stay with her until she convinced him to complete the mission.

Now a year on, it still is not known what Giffords will decide on when it comes to her political career. I would love for her to remain in Congress, but I understand that it would probably put additional stress on her if she did. Regardless of what she ultimately chooses to do, I am glad that her recovery has been phenomenal and that she is still steadily improving: I wish her and her family the best.