The husband of shot US congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords says his wife’s condition has improved so much that she has been able to smile and give him a neck rub at her hospital bedside. Astronaut Mark Kelly also said he would be prepared to meet the parents of the man who shot his wife.
The interactions with Mr Kelly are new signs of the Arizona Democrat’s impressive progress in recovering from the assassination attempt, which happened as she held an open-air surgery on January 8th.
The mass shooting outside a Tucson supermarket left six dead and 13 others wounded, including Ms Giffords, who was shot in the head. But Ms Giffords (40), still cannot speak because of a tube in her throat that is helping her breathe.
“She’s in the (intensive care unit). You know, gone through this traumatic injury. And she spent 10 minutes giving me a neck massage,” Mr Kelly says in an interview to be shown on ABC. “It’s so typical of her that no matter how bad the situation might be for her, you know, she’s looking out for other people.”
Such encounters indicate higher levels of functioning, implying that “she’s recognising him and interacting, perhaps in an old familiar way with him”, said Dr Michael Lemole.
Mr Kelly has also been essential in helping Ms Giffords’ staff through the tragedy, said Mark Kimble, a Tucson staff member who stood only a few feet from the politician when she was shot. “There is not a doubt in his mind and not a doubt in any of our minds that she’s going to be back."
Doctors upgraded Ms Giffords’ condition from critical to serious over the weekend and say they carried out three successful procedures that demonstrate she was recovering well.
A breathing tube was moved from her mouth to her throat along with a separate feeding tube that was shifted from her nose to her stomach. Dr Friese said removing the tubes in her nose and mouth reduces the risks of infections.Doctors also said they performed a surgery on an eye socket to remove bone fragments to relieve pressure on the eye.
The shooting suspect, Jared Loughner (22), remained behind bars in Phoenix. Investigators have described him as a mentally unstable man who was kicked out of a community college last year and became increasingly erratic in recent months.
He apparently became obsessed with inflicting violence on Ms Giffords since attending one of her campaign events in 2007.
Mr Kelly said he would be willing to meet Mr Loughner’s parents, who have remained in seclusion since the shooting. Mr Kelly, who has two teenage daughters from a previous marriage, said they had to be in a tremendous amount of pain. “I don’t think it’s their fault. It’s not the parents fault,” he told ABC. “You know, I’d like to think I’m a person that’s, you know, somewhat forgiving. And, I mean, they’ve got to be hurting in this situation as much as much as anybody.”
AP