U.S. Rep. Giffords departs to Houston for rehab after surviving attack

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U.S. Rep. Giffords departs to Houston for rehab after surviving attack

2011-01-22 02:03:55 GMT+7 (ICT)

TUCSON, ARIZONA (BNO NEWS) -- U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords on Friday was transported to Houston, Texas, in order to begin rehabilitation after surviving an attack in Tucson, The Arizona Republic newspaper reported.

Giffords was transported by ambulance from University Medical Center to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base. Afterwards, she boarded an air ambulance that will fly her to William P. Hobby Airport in Houston.

From there, she will be taken by helicopter to Memorial Hermann hospital's trauma center, where she will be evaluated before being transferred to TIRR (The Institute for Rehabilitation and Research) Memorial Hermann Rehabilitation Hospital.

Giffords was shot in the head at point-blank range by 22-year-old Jared Lee Loughner at a supermarket in northwest Tucson on January 8. Giffords was hosting her first "Congress on Your Corner" of the year when Loughner suddenly shot at her.

In addition, the attacker also shot at other people and as a result he killed six people and injured13 others. Among the victims were 9-year-old Christina Greene and U.S. District Judge John Roll.

Congresswoman Giffords, the target of the attack, was transported in an air ambulance on Friday as it flies at a lower altitude and the cabin pressure is altered so it does not impact patients with head wounds.

On Thursday, Giffords was taken outside the hospital, for the first time since being shot, to gaze at the Catalina Mountains along her husband astronaut Mark Kelly. Her office released a photo of the event.

"In two months' time, she'll be walking through the front door of this building. She's a fighter like nobody else that I know," said an optimistic Kelly.

TIRR Memorial Hermann specializes in helping patients rehabilitate after penetrating brain injuries and is one of the best of its kind in the United States.

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