Gabrielle Giffords Photo Released: Triumphant or Tragic?

There is a bit of tragic and triumphant in this story. Can anyone not think that the shooting was anything other than tragic. Giffords has met this tragedy with strength, courage, and the will to overcome. I wish her well and a speedy and full recovery.

@the_old_coach, I am so sorry to hear about the injury to your family member and I wish them the best. Please be aware that there are massive differences between the horrible injury to your family member and Gabby. The damage of a single bullet going high in the head and coming out the other side is dramatically less than that which your family member got from that of a car injury at 65 miles per hour. Giffords doctors have made it clear that her intelligence and memory is intact. She has had some damage to her hand, leg, and communication. The level of recovery from a TBI depends on lots of things including the extent of the injury, age, blood flow to the injured area, support of family, therapy available, etc. Giffords was and is exceptionally lucky in these. As a result her doctors are very optimistic about her recovery.

It takes time for these kinds of items to recover. About 12-24 months. I look forward to hearing about her continued steps towards health.

I wish her a full recovery and a long, happy life.

To the man that shot her, I wish him death and suffering in hell.

I am glad she is overcoming.

Many blessings to her and the state she represents.

its great that she has been able to recover from something that would have ended most peoples careers. I think its sad the killer might get of into some mental institue

In terms of what she's been thru, trriumphant. Keep on keeping on.

I saw the picture of her in the Daily Mail, I'm so glad she's alive. What a fighter and what excellent doctors and other healthcare professionals. I wish her a full and recovery.

I hate that she was shot but I am so tired of hearing about how brave and determined she is. How about the 9yr old lil girl that was gunned down during all this? Isnt that much more of a tragedy than a woman that has lived her life to the fullest? After the shooting everyone seemed to forget about all the other victims and focused on Giffords which goes to show if your not a wealthy politician in America you are a second class citizen not worthy of attention.

Honestly, I don't think it has to do with being a wealthy politician. I think it's the fact that this is a huge miracle, and the media wants to cover it every step of the way.

Hope she makes a full recovery.

she's a very lucky lady just to be alive.

Ok, she "looks" good, but the tragedy of a TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury) is going to be FOREVER.



I see comments about "speedy recovery" and she is "still alive" and I just cringe. The doctor's report is not overly optimistic on percentage of recovery.



I have a very close family member who has survived a TBI from an incredibly harsh auto accident (a man overdosing on heroin and running from a cop hit her broadside in the driver's side door at 85 mph). This happened in 2006 and she is still not "recovered." Yes, she "is alive" and we are waiting to see what her "purpose" is going to be here on this planet. IT WILL NEVER BE LIKE IT WAS. Not even CLOSE.



Family members and the public need to understand the severity of what happened to Ms. Giffords. At this stage she probably has the speech and intelligence factor of a very young child. She might remember how to speak, she might even remember het numbers and alphabet, and can possibly even write.How much she "recovers" at this point is unknown to all.



It is triumphant only in the fact that she is alive. Where she goes from here is anyone's guess, but I sincerely wish her the best and for her family to love the "new" her as much or more than the "old" her, who "died" that tragic day.

Jesus Christ Partner! She is not a God damned horse.We are not going to put her down for dog food. She is a person trapped inside of a body that does not function on command. If people call for compassion then this is it. Simply she has to adapt and move forward. She is not a waste product or an animal that can no longer produce. She is a person who will have needs.

Look how long Regan hung in there before he expired.

You read too much or too little perhaps into my comments. I live with a person with a TBI. It can be exhausting.

Sorry to hear that. I understand what you are saying. All to often this world just wants to dispose of people like they are nothing.

Best of luck.

Amazing!
Good for her.
And a good reminder for us to keep her in our prayers.

SHE'S A FIGHTER! ...CONGRATS, GABBY!

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She looks completely fine.

The release of her photo at this time is nothing but proproganda strategy. With Weiner in trouble and the bad economic numbers it was time to release the photos.

She looks great may god continue blessing her with a speedy recovery

She is alive

She looks far more better than expected. An injury to the brain is very difficult to overcome.
Good for her.
May God continue to be with you, Mrs.Giffords!

Trajic? Seriously? Someone will say Sarah Palin did it no doubt...

I am so happy to see that she has recovered from that tragis event..I wish her continued good health...

She will always be an inspiration for me and millions of other victims who are physically challenged. God bless her for all she does and is.

Go figure the people who vote tragic don't have the balls to stand up and back that false statement up.

TRAGIC! Too bad she aint dead! Would of done us all a favor, she isnt a looker to begin with!

Actually, ur typical Liberal response to an answer on a Liberal web site says all. You dont have a soul if ur a Lib who believes in the cause, hate to tell ya! B/c if u had a soul youd be a Conservitive who actually cares about real issues. Not this nonsense here... Everytime i answer a post on hear it shows the feeble minded, no nothings that elected the HNIC....Pathetic really

I really hope your not an "American", I can not even begin to start about how much you must hate America and want it destroyed. I do believe you are now the most hateful person I have ever met on SodaHead. Congratulations.

she looks great

This is wonderful to see. She looks fabulous, and to see her smiling touches me. I'm so glad she pulled through.

Not many people survive what she has been through. Best wishes to her.

Triumphant, of course, considering she was shot a close range, in the head.

What else would anyone call it?

I'm glad she is doing better.

Its so good to see her smiling face. God bless her.

I couldn't ever call that level of recovery tragic.

The whole ordeal on the other hand is tragic.

America has very good doctors. This level of recovery seems just amazing to me. Good job to all the care-givers and everyone that helped.