 Mark Kelly, Giffords' husband, holds the congresswoman's hand in her room at University Medical Center in Tucson, Ariz. AP photo |
Less than two weeks after surviving a bullet through the brain, Rep. Gabrielle Giffords stood up and looked out the window of her hospital room as she prepares to move to Houston to begin an arduous journey of intensive mental and physical rehabilitation.
Hospital spokeswoman Janet Stark said Giffords was able to stand on her feet with assistance from medical staff Wednesday in another significant milestone in her recovery. She'll have to relearn how to think and plan. It's unclear if she is able to speak or how well she can see. And while she is moving both arms and legs, it's uncertain how much strength she has on her right side.
Giffords' family hopes to move the Arizona congresswoman on Friday to TIRR Memorial Hermann hospital in Houston, where her husband Mark Kelly lives and works as an astronaut. The exact day of the move will depend on her health.
"I am extremely hopeful at the signs of recovery that my wife has made since the shooting," Kelly said in a statement released by Giffords' congressional office. The staff at University Medical Center in Tucson "has stabilized her to the point of being ready to move to the rehabilitation phase."
Meanwhile, a federal grand jury Wednesday evening indicted Jared Loughner, accusing him of attempting to assassinate Giffords and trying to kill two of her aides. Loughner, 22, is accused of shooting the Democratic lawmaker in the forehead Jan. 8 while she was meeting with constituents outside a grocery store in Tucson. The gunman shot 18 other people, killing six.
The indictment does not include two murder charges included in an earlier criminal complaint for the deaths of another Giffords aide and a federal judge. U.S. attorney for Arizona Dennis Burke said Wednesday's initial indictment was just the beginning of federal legal action against the Tucson resident.
Authorities in Arizona said Loughner was set to be back in court next week. A preliminary hearing Monday for Jared Loughner will be held in a large federal courtroom in Phoenix.
Dr. John Holcomb, a retired Army colonel and a trauma surgeon at the Houston hospital, praised the care she received in Tucson and said Giffords would "move quickly toward a tailored and comprehensive rehab plan."
Hospital spokeswoman Janet Stark said Giffords was able to stand on her feet with assistance from medical staff Wednesday in another significant milestone in her recovery. She'll have to relearn how to think and plan. It's unclear if she is able to speak or how well she can see. And while she is moving both arms and legs, it's uncertain how much strength she has on her right side.
Giffords' family hopes to move the Arizona congresswoman on Friday to TIRR Memorial Hermann hospital in Houston, where her husband Mark Kelly lives and works as an astronaut. The exact day of the move will depend on her health.
"I am extremely hopeful at the signs of recovery that my wife has made since the shooting," Kelly said in a statement released by Giffords' congressional office. The staff at University Medical Center in Tucson "has stabilized her to the point of being ready to move to the rehabilitation phase."
Meanwhile, a federal grand jury Wednesday evening indicted Jared Loughner, accusing him of attempting to assassinate Giffords and trying to kill two of her aides. Loughner, 22, is accused of shooting the Democratic lawmaker in the forehead Jan. 8 while she was meeting with constituents outside a grocery store in Tucson. The gunman shot 18 other people, killing six.
The indictment does not include two murder charges included in an earlier criminal complaint for the deaths of another Giffords aide and a federal judge. U.S. attorney for Arizona Dennis Burke said Wednesday's initial indictment was just the beginning of federal legal action against the Tucson resident.
Authorities in Arizona said Loughner was set to be back in court next week. A preliminary hearing Monday for Jared Loughner will be held in a large federal courtroom in Phoenix.
Dr. John Holcomb, a retired Army colonel and a trauma surgeon at the Houston hospital, praised the care she received in Tucson and said Giffords would "move quickly toward a tailored and comprehensive rehab plan."
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