Giffords Has Been Speaking for Days, Say Doctors

The astronaut husband of the congresswoman who was shot in Tucson on Jan. 8 says he fully expects her to be at his shuttle launch in April.

Gabrielle Giffords continues to surprise doctors with her recovery after being shot in the head by a would-be assassin last month. Staff at the TIRR Memorial Hermann rehabilitation centre in Houston said that the aggressive speech therapy she is undergoing is having an effect and that she has been speaking sporadically for several days, often telling nurses what she’d like to eat. It’s unclear however to what extent she has regained full brain function. Staff would not reveal if she understands what happened on the day of the shooting. Giffords’s husband Capt. Mark Kelly said he had her “full support” to go ahead with plans to command the space shuttle Endeavour on a mission scheduled for launch on Apr. 19.