Skip to main content

Giffords sees brother-in-law for first time since shooting

By the CNN Wire Staff
Astronaut Scott Kelly poses for pictures in October before leaving for the international space station.
Astronaut Scott Kelly poses for pictures in October before leaving for the international space station.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  • Astronaut Scott Kelly returned to Earth last week
  • He saw Giffords at her hospital in Texas, a spokesman says
  • Giffords' husband, Scott Kelly's brother Mark, is also an astronaut
  • Giffords was shot in January and has been recovering since then
RELATED TOPICS

(CNN) -- Wounded U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords saw her brother-in-law, NASA commander Scott Kelly, for the first time since she was shot in January, her spokesman told CNN Sunday.

Kelly returned to Earth from the international space station last week and went to Houston, the home of the Johnson Space Center, early Thursday morning. His reunion with Giffords took place at TIRR Memorial Hermann rehabilitation hospital in Houston on Friday, C.J. Karamargin said.

Giffords is being treated at the hospital after being shot in the head January 8 at an event in Tucson, Arizona. Six other people, including a federal judge and a 9-year-old girl, were killed.

Giffords' husband, Mark Kelly, who is also an astronaut, is optimistic that she can attend the launch of the space shuttle Endeavour scheduled for next month, he said last week.

"I am hopeful that can happen," he told a telephone news conference sponsored by the American Red Cross on Tuesday.

"I am really encouraged," Kelly said of his wife. "She is doing well. She continues to improve daily."

Mark Kelly was promoting 100 events sponsored by the Red Cross around the country on Saturday, called "Gabrielle Giffords Honorary Save-a-Life Saturday," where trainers will be teaching Americans key first aid and CPR skills.

Organizers want people equipped with the knowledge needed to save lives -- as happened at the shooting of Giffords and others when people jumped in and gave critical aid to the victims until emergency workers arrived.

Mark Kelly is training for his mission in Houston, where his wife is hospitalized.

Doctors told a news conference on March 11 that Giffords has been speaking in full sentences and is able to walk with assistance.

Mark Kelly told reporters Tuesday there was no set deadline for making a final decision about whether Giffords will be able to make the journey to Florida for the shuttle takeoff.

"We are looking at that right now," he said.

Part of complete coverage on
Giffords faces long road to recovery
In the days and weeks to come, Rep. Gabrielle Giffords' recovery from a gunshot wound to the head will be a marathon, not a sprint, doctors say.
Giffords' condition upgraded to good
Doctors for Rep. Gabrielle Giffords have upgraded her condition from serious to good, and said she may be transferred to a nearby rehabilitation hospital Wednesday morning.
Tucson suspect pleads not guilty
A federal judge entered a plea of not guilty Monday on behalf of Jared Lee Loughner to three counts of attempted murder in the mass shooting that wounded U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords earlier this month.
Giffords surprising doctors
Gabrielle Giffords has been able to stand with assistance. "She's activating her muscles even more than what I had anticipated," one doctor says.
Giffords moved to Texas rehab center
Rep. Gabrielle Giffords arrived in Houston, Texas, on Friday to continue her recovery from a gunshot wound to the brain, her office said.
Giffords likely headed to Texas hospital
The next phase of recovery for U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords is likely to begin later this week when she will be transported to a rehabilitation hospital in Houston.
Husband: Giffords feared being shot
Rep. Gabrielle Giffords was worried about her safety long before she was critically wounded in a mass shooting that killed six people in Arizona, her husband said in a new interview.
Source: Provocative photo turns up
Arizona shooting suspect Jared Loughner photographed himself posing with a 9mm handgun while wearing a red G-string, a law enforcement source said.