Posted on 06/09/2011 10:48:27 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
Gabrielle Giffords is nowhere close to returning to Congress. And there remains real doubt about whether she ever will.
That appears to be the bottom line of an article Thursday in the Arizona Republic that provides the most complete assessment yet of the wounded congresswoman’s current condition. Giffords was shot in the head by a gunman in Tucson in January. Now, six months later, she still struggles mightily to communicate, although her staff believes her comprehension skills are strong. And it remains unclear just how much damage her brain has suffered.
Asked for a blunt description of Giffords’ condition, her chief of staff, Pia Carusone, replied: "She's living. She's alive. But if she were to plateau today, and this was as far as she gets, it would not be nearly the quality of life she had before."
As to whether she resembles herself before the shooting, Carusone said, “There's no comparison. All that we can hope for is that she won't plateau today and that she'll keep going, and that when she does plateau, it will be at a place far away from here."
The news may be sobering, but it's not necessarily a surprise. The state of Giffords' health has been closely guarded information as early, hopeful accounts of her rapid physical and motor recovery yielded to more cautious -- and less frequent -- reports. She remains at a Houston rehabilitation facility while her staff manages her day-to-day congressional business.
........In the initial months after the shooting, as optimistic reports of Giffords’ recovery continued to surface, speculation arose that the moderate Democrat might make a run for the open U.S. Senate seat that will be vacated by the retiring Republican Jon Kyl....such a bid outside the realm of possibility -- at least for now.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
Why quit? Doesn't she have a husband,child, or even a horse who could serve in her place?
I also doubt he would want the position.
The MAJOR fact to be considered is that even if Gabrielle started being able to talk, it will be a long time before she would not be under medical care.
All common sense and reason says they should already have realized that and prepared to hand over the office, so the public’s good could be served.
That they are dallying just shows they are up to no good. (I mean Gabrielle’s peers in Congress)
“The Left makes me sick. They use people.”
EXACTLY! It’s what they do. People are nothing but a commodity to the Left. They are unscrupulous, immoral, and Godless.
The Democrat Party represents the Left extremely well.
Well, politically this is just depriving her district and teh Congress of a liberal democrat vote. They could get that vote back by replacing her. I can see cutting her and her district some slack for now based on the traumatic nature of her injury.
However, it is worth noting that, yes, the media would be doing exposes and drumbeating for the resignation of a republican. After all, they went so far as to accuse specific republicans of shooting her!
Tramatic Brain Injury (TBI) can take an unpredictable amount of time to heal. I would imagine the Dr’s have been optimistic because she initially survived and is able to eat, walk, see/recognize and work with rehab.
It could be another 12 months before she regains or relearns any skills that were compromised.
I think it’s human nature and compassionate for the people around her to be optimistic, but maybe her state should consider a fill in for her duties.
Often side effects of TBI are the person is easily fatigued, trouble with concentrating, memory issues, dizziness, mood swings and a risk for seizures. Returning to work is one thing; being able to meet the demands is another.
Our daughter suffered TBI from a car wreck, recovery is a twisty-turny road. It can speed up and slow down.
(daughter made full and miraculaous recovery with all the glory to God)and we hope the same for Gabrielle Giffords.
May the Lord bless and keep you, and make His face shine upon you...
...and bring you peace...
Please release Gabrielle Giffords to live as reasonable a life as possible.
Thank God that the madman Loughner didn't kill her outright, but as a functioning Congressperson, she is finished for the time being....and it is time to let go.
Have a special election...let husband Mark Kelley run in her place if that would be his wish.....
...but release the Honorable lady to live in quiet peace.
Think about this murder/near death case, and where she’s from.
Then put this together with all the recent deaths in government related positions together.
Like The guy they found in the dumpster.
Like the woman found burned up halfway out of her own garage.
Where were they from, what did they do, who did they work for, and what do they have in common?
Whose ‘way’ did they get in?
“If her constituents haven’t demanded a special election to fill the functionally empty seat, they deserve every pound of crap the dems throw their way.”
Republicans control the House regardless. As it is, for all practical purposes, the seat is empty. I suspect Jesse Kelly will win the seat in 2012. He came very close in 2008: Giffords had 132,818 votes, or 48.66 percent, to Kelly’s 129,133, or 47.31 percent.
Trying to force a special election right now might well result in a huge sympathy vote for the Demoncrats, and leave us with an incumbent harder to get rid of than Giffords.
When she denounces obama for the funeral fundraiser with free t-shirts we will know she is ok.
Is this something Jan Brewer could put into motion? A special election or an appointed Rep?
No one should have to go through what Ms. Giffords is going through, but if she is close friend of Wasserman Schultz, she is not the sharpest knife in the drawer. She should resign and take care of her health and life. I hear she is a nutso eco-maniac and...her husband in my humble opinion is a traitor to NASA, standing by “Dirt Dog” POTUS Obama as he dismantled NASA and layed off hundreds of loyal NASA workers while he destroys the American Space program and weakens our nation!!! As usual, this whole dog and pony show was and is a farce!!!
Wonder if Larry Flint has anything to say.
I've been saying the same thing. She was an attractive woman prior to the shooting. It seems like they are protecting the public from some awful truths.
With all the hedging on her condition by Gifford’s chief of staff, it’s highly unlikely that she will make a complete recovery. She will not return to Washington.
Why would the residents of Gifford’s ARIZONA district want a full-time resident of TEXAS as their Rep? That’s not even legal.
“If she’s not there, at the Capitol, she can’t vote.”
She might not be able to vote EVEN IF SHE WERE THERE.
That is truly wonderful news. I too wish the Gifford and Kelly families the best as they work toward her recovery.
I have a niece who was T-boned by a drunk illegal alien who ran a red light. She's been on a feeding tube the last 10 years and her brain injury was such she will not be leaving the hospital. It took a horrific toll on her immediate family and friends and it makes all those her know her count each day as precious.
As if that matters to democrats.
“See, when you are not there to vote, there is a a bit of cheating that goes on, where those who are there, vote for you. It’s not really legal, but then it is mostly ignored by the Chair.”
I believe that proxies may be allowed in committee votes, but, even if Giffords has not been temporarily replaced on the committees where she sat, no Democrat would dare claim that Giffords gave him or her a proxy to vote a certain way.
I agree. I just wondered why a well-meaning Freeper would suggest that as a legitimate course of action.
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