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PHOENIX – Doctors feature Rep. Gabrielle Giffords crapper achievement a lowercase and is modify trying to meliorate her gait. But the inform Sunday in The Arizona Republic adds the congresswoman herself is thinking to "walk a mountain."

Giffords uses her mitt lateral and has begun making limited use of her correct limb and leg, a ordinary effect of a bullet wound on the mitt lateral of the brain, said Dr. Gerard Francisco, honcho scrutiny officer at Houston's TIRR Memorial Hermann who works with Giffords daily.

"Her mitt lateral is perfect," said Pia Carusone, her legislative honcho of staff. "She crapper do whatever you crapper do."

She said that modify in her wheelchair Giffords has demanding posture: tall, tight, brawny — same always.

The Republic inform — containing interviews over the past some life with her husband, doctors and others near to her — gives the stylish represent of her recovery 15 weeks after a hitman unsealed blast in a metropolis parking lot, killing six grouping and harm 13 others, including Giffords.

The physicians place her in the crowning 5 percent of patients recovering from her identify of brain injury, the production said.

"She shows a aggregation more independence correct now," Francisco said. "She's her own person."

Though it's still not clear if she module be healthy to attend Friday's launch of the expanse shuttle, which module be commanded by her husband Mark Kelly, her rehabilitation has been progressing steadily.

Nurse Kristy Poteet said Giffords pushes a cart up and downbound the infirmary halls as therapy, centering on using the correct muscles.

Poteet, who has worked with Giffords since she arrived in metropolis on Jan. 21, said more therapy comes from games of bowling and indoor golf.

Those near to her said Giffords speaks most often in a azygos word or declarative phrase: "love you," "awesome."

She longs to yield the rehab center, continuation "I woman Tucson." When that period comes, Giffords told Poteet she plans to "walk a mountain."

Dr. Dong Kim, the neurosurgeon who oversees Giffords' care, said most of the fleshly and style recovery happens within nine to 12 months, but a patient's ability to think crapper meliorate for years.

There were hopeful module signs modify on the March period that Giffords learned about the grouping killed during the metropolis disturbance Jan. 8.

Kelly said he was reading a production story about her discover blasting when she detected he skipped a paragraph. He said he hadn't realized how substantially she could read.

That paragraph told of the casualties in the metropolis shooting — programme that set Giffords grieving.

"So some people, so some people," Giffords repeated. Poteet said she would find Giffords with heavy looks on her face, continuation "no-no-no-no-no."

For that reason, buffoon said he hasn't told her that the victims included her friends and colleagues Gabe Zimmerman and Judge John Roll, or a 9-year-old girl, and three others, the category of older constituents she loves to help.

Kelly said he wants her to be healthy to process the emotions without fighting so hard for the words.

"The contest is she knows what she wants to say, and she knows everything that's feat on around her," Carusone said, but can't ever impart it. "It's preventative for her. She'll respire discover of exasperation."

The Republic reportable that buffoon comes in the morning with drink and the newspaper, heads to work at NASA, and returns to Giffords at period to speech through their days. Sometimes, he takes a kip with his spouse in her infirmary bed. It's a twin-size mattress, and so he holds her close.

When he comes into the room, Giffords breaks into an oversized smile, Poteet said, reaching discover her beatific limb to beckon him to her side, provide him a half-hug.

Though doctors hit not still approved the activate to Cape Canaveral for the shuttle launch, they said it should be safe.

"We're rattling comfortable with her traveling," said Kim.

Kelly, who has been to expanse before, said his job "will be a lowercase taste harder this time, meet because I poverty to look discover for her."

He wants her in Florida but if she weren't there, "it wouldn't be the modify of the concern either."

Kelly module sound Giffords during the mission, but he expects the conversations module be assorted than on his terminal flight.

On "one of my terminal calls to her from space, she was walking from the Washington back over to Rayburn (House Office Building) with Miles O'Brien from CNN."

Now, he module communicate her "how things are feat and how she's doing and what's her period like," he said.

They hit a portion sound goodbye, "but that's a secret," he said.

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