Accompanied by a veterans' motorcycle escort, Arizona U.S. Rep Gabrielle Giffords will be taken Friday from a Tucson hospital to a nearby Air Force base for a flight to Texas and the beginning of her extended recovery, according to the congresswoman's office.
Giffords, thus far, has made a remarkable recovery after being shot through the brain in a January 8 assassination attempt in Tucson, but doctors said she will require further rehabilitation.
According to her office, Giffords will leave Tucson's University Medical Center around 9:15 a.m. She will be taken in an ambulance to nearby Davis-Monthan Air Force Base for the flight to Houston.
The congresswoman rode with Veterans of Foreign Wars riders in May 2009, when they escorted the remains of Civil War-era veterans from Tucson to Sierra Vista. VFW riders will accompany her ambulance on Friday.
The Air Force will transport Giffords on a Challenger aircraft to Houston's William P. Hobby Airport, arriving around 1:15 p.m, the office said. A helicopter will take her to TIRR Memorial Hermann, a rehabilitation hospital.
Accompanying Giffords on the flight from Tucson will be:
– Mark Kelly, her husband
– Dr. Peter Rhee, her UMC trauma surgeon
– Tracy Culbert, one of her nurses in University Medical Center's intensive care unit
– Gloria Giffords, her mother
– Pia Carusone, her chief of staff
– C.J. Karamargin, her communications director
Kelly on Thursday said Giffords' family looked at several different rehabilitation facilities and liked TIRR Memorial Hermann, part of the Texas Medical Center, for several reasons. Among them: The medical team there specializes in penetrating head injuries like the one Giffords has suffered, and it is relatively close to Tucson.
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awsome!
I'm glad she's doing well. I wonder who's paying her medical bills. Does she have socialized medicine?
Your comment about socialized medicine shows you are callous and insincere.We need a national health care system and the right wing rich have always oppossed it.The only "advanced nation" in the world that does not have it is the USA.But guns ? We have them like cornflakes and milk. Pray for Gaby and pray for the soul of our nation.
Like many Americans, she has health insurance through her employer.
It's a shame she has to go to another state, but if Houston has better care, then I guess it makes sense, at least her husband and mom will be with her.
I, too, am very glad that Rep. Giffords' recovery is going well, and continue to wish her and her family all the best. On a side note...there is really a simple fix to healthcare in this country – just give all citizens access to the same plan/benefits that Congress has. End of discussion.
My grandfather went to the same rehab center in 2001 after a car accident in Central Texas. He was at TIRR for a couple of months. Other than a few limps here and there, he is a completely fine. However, that was after a gruesome physical and mental rehabilitation regimen. I really hope the same can be said for Mrs. Giffords. She will be a true inspiration, but even more so if she can come back %100. I hope Laughner hangs.
TIRR is a very center for rehab medicine. I wish Rep. Giffords a speedy recovery.
I don't think it's a good idea to give out all the details about Congresswoman Giffords'
transfer for rehabilation....
I agree with all the crazy idiots these days.
is it just me or is this just way too much easy information for someone bad to obtain...
This is way too much information for anyone to know. Leave the woman alone. We don't even have a choice whether or not to listen or read about her every single move or detail of her recovery. It is headline news, in our face every waking minute - why is it headline news? She wasn't the only one hurt, she wasn't killed, she isn't the only one recovering, and she isn't a hero. Let her heal in peace. She must be grieving, as well. A little girl who looked up to her and a colleague died in that incident that was supposed to take her life. I'm sure she hasn't forgotten that, but it appears the media has. It is ridiculous how the press is following her every step like this.
Why is her family making the decisions? Kelly is the one married to her. The hospital might be great, but I would think the main reason would be that is where Kelly works and has his total family. From all that has been said by the doctors she seems to have escaped the worse from this shooting. No shooting is good, but I feel God was watching over her that day. May she have a speed recovery with (hopefully) total recovery. Also, may all the other victims have speedy recoveries both physical and mental. God rest the souls of the ones that died.
There is a really good chance that one of the reasons they choose Houston, was because her husband Kelly is an astronaut, and they typically are based out of the Houston Space Center.
Well that's because it's not true
The actual details of her transportation won't be revealed, but the media would like us to believe the above plans so Americans can feel clued in regarding her recovery. TIRR is a great center, and she's in good hands.
I'm glad she's getting out of Arizona for her rehabilitation. Governor Brewer might decide she's ineligible for treatment !
It is fortunate that she most likely has both primary and seconday health insurance - insurance as a member of the House and as a military dependent. Its tragic to think that if the Republicans had their way we would return to a non-system of health care in which 40M would have no insurance.
Hass Giffords skull been put back together? At first they remove a part of skull to relieve pressure. Has it been put back in place?
Giffords brain will be protected with a helmit.
As one conser tweeter observed, "it is harsh reality that IF one can't afford Class A health technology, then to settle for
a more modest Class B,C, or even D is the American way. Why should I be forced to pay for the less fortunate. Moreover, I have nothing but disgust with those attempting to create class warfare".