Rep. Gabrielle Giffords Makes First Public Crowd Appearance In Houston

Although the medical jury is still out as to whether she will ever recover enough to serve again in Congress, there’s yet another tidbit of good news about Rep. Gabrielle Giffords: she made her first public appearance in front of a crowd and she wowed them:

Rep. Gabrielle Giffords made her first public appearance in front of a crowd since being shot in the head Jan. 8, rising from her wheelchair to hug and kiss her husband, former astronaut Mark Kelly, when he received the Spaceflight Medal.

Giffords, D-Ariz., entered, being pushed in a wheelchair, to a standing ovation from a crowd of hundreds at the awards ceremony auditorium at Space Center Houston, which is next to the Johnson Space Center.

Her hair was much shorter than in previously published photos. She was wearing glasses, a beige scarf, a light shirt, jeans and sneakers. She smiled and waved to the crowd.

Giffords and Kelly held hands for most of the event. She appeared to chat with people sitting around her, and laughed when the crew of STS-134, the Space Shuttle Endeavour’s last mission, was introduced. Kelly commanded the mission.

Giffords left during home movies of the crew, shown during the event.

The Giffords story is a tragedy but — far at least — it is seasoned big dashes of hope as bit by bit she progresses to stages that seemed impossible. Those who died in the shooting were clearly not that lucky. But the ongoing story of her personal determination and the love of her husband is a compelling one.

And the story goes on. Her husband is resigning to take care of his wife: