posted 01-12-2011 01:10 PM               

Since the tragic shooting in Tuscon, Arizona, on Saturday, Jan. 8, messages of support and well wishes have overwhelmed several communications paths at NASA.

As a result, this site has been created to provide a location where you can submit messages intended for Rep. Giffords’ husband, astronaut Mark Kelly, Commander of Space Shuttle Mission STS-134, and her brother-in-law, astronaut Scott Kelly, Commander of Expedition 26 aboard the International Space Station.

In recent statements, both thanked the public for the overwhelming messages of support they have received.

Please send your message here. Your comments will be displayed below and sent to Mark and Scott.

For cards or letters, the mailing address is:

Scott Kelly and/or Mark Kelly (please specify)
c/o Kelly Curtis, Mailcode: CB
NASA Johnson Space Center
2101 NASA Parkway
Houston, Texas 77058

posted 01-12-2011 01:29 PM               

Nice to hear that her prospects are so much better than they might have been.

posted 01-12-2011 08:34 PM               

According to the President, it happened a few minutes after he left her hospital room earlier in the evening. Mark Kelly gave the President permission to share the news.

posted 01-13-2011 02:39 PM               

After opening her eyes on Wednesday, today she is responding to seeing friends and family. Her doctors were able to sit her up and have her dangle her legs off the side of the bed.

posted 01-16-2011 12:43 PM               

For the first time, Capt. Kelly opens up to Diane Sawyer about the moment he heard the tragic news, the emotional bed-side vigil he has kept since, and how the nation's outpouring of support has impacted them. In addition, Sawyer gets insight into the dynamics of the couple from friends and loved ones who know them best.

The exclusive interview will air during a special edition of "20/20" with Diane Sawyer reporting. "The Congresswoman and the Astronaut: An American Story of Love and Strength" on Tuesday, Jan. 18 at 10 p.m. EST on the ABC Television Network.

Portions of the interview will first air Tuesday on "Good Morning America," "World News with Diane Sawyer," and will continue later that evening on "Nightline" with additional coverage from ABCNews.com, ABC News Radio, ABC News NOW, and ABC NewsOne, the network's affiliate news service.

posted 01-16-2011 07:17 PM               

Three patients from the tragic shooting a week ago remain at UMC. Two are listed in good condition and U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords has been upgraded to serious condition from critical because she is no longer on a ventilator.

The Congresswoman continues to do well. She is breathing on her own.

posted 01-16-2011 07:24 PM               

To honor the victims of the recent tragedy in Tucson and their families, we have started a fund in Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords' name to support future leaders in earth and space sciences, engineering and policy. In her 112th Congress swearing-in speech, Gabby talked about the need for leadership. She also strongly supports earth and space sciences, as well as technology innovations and public policy that benefit our nation. Gabby is to administer the fund, which is intended to help develop America's leadership in these critical areas through a range of activities, sponsorships and support for students.

The Gabrielle Giffords Earth and Space Leadership Fund was started by friends and supporters of hers from Tucson and the Space community. We are grateful for the positive outpouring of support for her, and the other victims of this tragedy and appreciative of all who are helping create a lasting tribute.

posted 01-18-2011 01:02 PM               

Scott Kelly, twin brother of fellow astronaut Mark Kelly, speaks with ABC News Primetime Host Diane Sawyer from the International Space Station about the Tucson shooting of his sister in-law, Rep. Gabrielle Giffords.

posted 01-19-2011 09:21 AM               

According to an e-mail sent to family and friends by Gabrielle Giffords' mother Gloria, the Congresswoman will be moved from Tucson's University Medical Center to rehabilitation facilities in Houston, Texas, on Friday. From the same e-mail (via media reports):

Last night, she took [her husband's] iPod and scrolled through all the pictures. Early this morning she began to read cards made for her by some 4th graders! Her unbandaged eye tracked the lines, she opened the cards and turned them over reading the back. Mark's gotten pages of large print of Harry Potter's 1st book for her to hold and read.

posted 01-24-2011 03:55 PM               

Doctors there are treating Giffords for fluid buildup in her brain, a complication that developed before she left Arizona, but is expected to move later this week to TIRR, Memorial Hermann to begin her rehabilitation.

Her husband, astronaut Mark Kelly, checked in Monday at Johnson Space Center for the first time since the shooting, according to the Houston Chronicle.

Kelly is currently slated to participate in a schedule of training set to start Feb. 7, ahead of the final Endeavor flight, he said.

"Whether I'm actually going to do that or not, we have not decided," Kelly said, adding that he planned to make a decision about training over the next two weeks.

posted 02-14-2011 11:10 AM               

Ms. Carusone [Giffords’s chief of staff] said that on Sunday afternoon, Ms. Giffords's husband, Capt. Mark E. Kelly, put the congresswoman on the phone to talk to his twin brother and fellow astronaut, Scott, who is aboard the International Space Station.

"She said, 'Hi, I’m good,'" Ms. Carusone said.

posted 04-24-2011 04:23 PM               

And, according to ABC News today, she has been cleared to attend the launch of her husband Mark Kelly and his STS-134 crewmates on space shuttle Endeavour.

"As one of NASA's biggest supporters in Congress, she was looking forward to having the opportunity to be there, and I think there is a pretty good chance to have that," [Kelly] said in March.

She is getting that chance, and now her staff, doctors, and space agency officials are planning Giffords' transportation and medical care to watch the launch.

Giffords will have company with her, including her family, her husband's family, her staff and President Obama, with his wife Michelle and their daughters Malia and Sasha. Her staff has warned this will not be a public appearance for Giffords though they have suggested they may release a photo post launch.

posted 06-12-2011 02:16 PM               

Giffords' congressional office posted on Facebook today the first photos of Giffords to be released since she was shot in January.

posted 06-15-2011 04:44 PM               

U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords' Recovery Reaches Major Milestone Today

Arizona congresswoman will begin outpatient therapy in Texas

U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords reached a major milestone in her recovery today when she was discharged from TIRR Memorial Hermann and will soon begin outpatient treatment at the same facility.

Doctors treating the Arizona congresswoman say her cognitive abilities and physical strength have improved to the point where she no longer needs to remain a patient in the hospital.

"Congresswoman Giffords has shown clear, continuous improvement from the moment she arrived at TIRR five months ago," said Dr. Gerard Francisco, the hospital's chief medical officer.

"We are very excited that she has reached the next phase of her rehabilitation and can begin outpatient treatment. We have no doubt that she will continue to make significant strides in her recovery."

Giffords, who was shot in the head on Jan. 8, will move into the home of her husband, Navy Capt. Mark Kelly, in League City, Texas.

"Gabby gives her all to everything she does and that's exactly what she's been doing at TIRR since Jan. 26," said Kelly. "The remarkable progress she has made since then is a testament to both her single-minded determination to get better and the team of medical professionals overseeing her care."

As an outpatient, Giffords' intensive therapy program will not change. Her care will continue to be overseen by Dr. Francisco, who also serves as the chairman of the department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston.

The congresswoman will continue to work with the same rehab team that she has worked with so far.

"This continuity of care will ensure that the congresswoman's recovery continues to go well," Francisco said. "The benefit - and we expect it to be significant - is that she will be able to leave TIRR every afternoon."

At Kelly's home, Giffords will be assisted by a 24-hour home health provider.

"Anyone who knows Gabby knows that she loves being outside," Kelly said. "Living and working in a rehab facility for five months straight has been especially challenging for her. She will still go to TIRR each day but from now on, when she finishes rehab, she will be with her family."

On May 18, Giffords underwent a cranioplasty procedure to replace a portion of her skull that had been removed to relieve the pressure of swelling on her brain. The cranioplasty replaced the missing skull fragment with a ceramic implant, around which bone cells will grow in time.

A permanent shunt was also implanted to drain fluids into her abdominal cavity via a plastic tube. Both procedures were successful. Doctors removed the stitches from the cranioplasty two weeks ago, a final step in the healing process.

"Gabby has recovered well from the surgery," said Dr. Dong Kim, director of Mischer Neuroscience Institute at Memorial Hermann and professor and chair, department of Neurosurgery, UTHealth Medical School. "Her wounds have healed, she has resumed full physical therapy without a helmet, and I am comfortable that she can be discharged."

Giffords started rehabilitation in the Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center Neurotrauma intensive care unit (ICU) on Friday, January 21, when she was flown from Arizona to Houston, and then brought by Life Flight helicopter to the hospital's level one trauma center. She was transferred to TIRR Memorial Hermann on Wednesday, January 26.

During her stay at Memorial Hermann, the congresswoman has been under the care of a multidisciplinary team that also includes Dr. Imoigele Aisiku, director of Neurocritical Care, Mischer Neuroscience Institute at Memorial Hermann and associate professor and vice chairman of Critical Care, department of Neurosurgery at UTHealth, and Dr. Bryan Oh, neurotrauma surgeon, Mischer Neuroscience Institute at Memorial Hermann, and assistant professor of neurotrauma, UTHealth Medical School.

posted 01-22-2012 01:20 PM               

A Message from Gabby

Arizona is my home, always will be. A lot has happened over the past year. We cannot change that. But I know on the issues we fought for we can change things for the better. Jobs, border security, veterans. We can do so much more by working together. I don't remember much from that horrible day, but I will never forget the trust you placed in me to be your voice. Thank you for your prayers and for giving me time to recover. I have more work to do on my recovery so to do what is best for Arizona I will step down this week. I'm getting better. Every day, my spirit is high. I will return and we will work together for Arizona and this great country. Thank you very much.

posted 01-24-2012 02:04 AM               

Mark talked about his life, Gabby's, the aftermath of the shooting, etc.. The main thing he made clear though is he is not going to run for Congress, no matter how many times he has been asked. He will spend the foreseeable future helping Gabby to recover. That is his mission now, and it is a worthy one.

posted 02-10-2012 09:43 PM               

Navy Names Littoral Combat Ship Gabrielle Giffords

Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus announced Feb. 10 that the next Independence variant littoral combat ship (LCS) will be named USS Gabrielle Giffords (LCS 10).

The selection of Gabrielle Giffords, designated LCS 10, honors the former congresswoman from Tucson, Ariz. who is known for supporting the military and veterans, advocating for renewable energy and championing border security. Giffords recently resigned from Congress to recover from wounds she sustained in an assassination attempt in 2011.

Above: The Secretary of the Navy (SECNAV) the honorable Ray Mabus shakes hands with retired Navy Capt. Mark Kelly, husband of former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, from Arizona, at the Pentagon.

"The Navy motto is Semper Fortis, Always Courageous," said Mabus during a ceremony held in the Pentagon Courtyard. "Unwavering courage has defined the Navy for 236 years and it is what we expect, what we demand of our Sailors every single day. So it's very appropriate that LCS 10 be named for someone who has become synonymous with courage, who has inspired the nation with remarkable resiliency and showed the possibilities of the human spirit."

Mabus also announced the ship's sponsor will be Roxanna Green. Green is the mother of Christina-Taylor Green, the nine-year-old girl who was killed while attending the meeting of constituents where Giffords was shot. A ship's sponsor plays an important role in the life of the ship, naval tradition holds that her spirit and presence guide the ship throughout its service life.

"On that dark, tragic day now more than a year ago, Christina-Taylor Green was taken from us. A nine-year-old who had just been elected to the student council, she wanted to become a more active participant in our democracy. Her mother, Roxanna Green, continues to express her daughter's hope for the future and, as the President said, "of a nation as good as she imagined."

"I am pleased to honor Gabrielle Giffords and the people of Arizona with the naming of this ship," said Mabus. "Giffords and the ship's sponsor, Roxanna Green, are sources of great inspiration and represent the Navy and Marine Corps qualities of overcoming, adapting and coming out victorious despite great challenges."

The ship is part of a dual block buy of LCS class ships announced by Mabus in December 2010. By procuring both versions of the LCS - Lockheed Martin's semiplaning monohull and General Dynamic's aluminum trimaran - the Navy is stabilizing the LCS program and the industrial base with an award of 20 ships each; increasing ship procurement rates to support operational requirements; sustaining competition through the program; and enhancing foreign military sales opportunities. Both designs meet the Navy's LCS requirement. However, the diversity provided by two designs provides operational flexibility.

Littoral combat ships perform a vital role in the Navy's ability to execute DoD's Defense Strategy. USS Gabrielle Giffords will be designed to defeat growing littoral threats and provide access and dominance in the coastal waters. A fast, agile surface combatant, the LCS provides the required warfighting capabilities and operational flexibility to execute focused missions close to the shore, such as mine warfare, anti-submarine warfare, and surface warfare. The LCS class of ships will be outfitted with reconfigurable payloads, called mission packages, which can be changed out quickly as combat needs demand. These mission packages are supported by special detachments that will deploy manned and unmanned vehicles and sensors in support of mine, undersea and surface warfare missions.

Gabrielle Giffords will be 419 feet in length, have a waterline beam of 103 feet, displace approximately 3,000 tons, and make speed in excess of 40 knots. The construction will be led by Austal Shipbuilding in Mobile, Ala.

This is the 16th ship to be named for a woman and the 13th ship to be named for a living person since 1850. This is the first ship to bear Giffords' name.