Gabrielle Giffords Photos Released

Back in January, if you may recall, Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was brought to Houston's Medical Center for treatment and rehabilitation.  She was part of a horrendous shooting that took place at a political event  held at a grocery store in Tuscon, Arizona.  The gunman walked up to Giffords and shot her in the head at point-blank range.  He, not only injured her, but injured and killed many others - it was a horrible, horrible situation. Everyone feared she would die from her injuries, but instead it turned out to be a miraculous recovery that seldom happens with gunshot wounds to the head.  While she's still having a little difficulty speaking, she has regained a lot of her cognitive abilities.

Yesterday new photos of Giffords surfaced on her Facebook page, which showed her remarkable recovery.  And there's also word that doctors may soon release her to an outpatient program.  So the prospect of home, rest-assured, sounds exciting to her right now.
Check out how well she's doing after jump.

Since the January shooting that left Rep. Gabrielle Giffords seriously wounded, the Arizona congresswoman has been recovering in private. But on Sunday, Giffords posted two photographs of herself on her official Facebook page. The images, which were taken by photographer P.K. Weis, on May 17 – the day after the congresswoman attended husband Mark Kelly’s NASA shuttle launch – outside a Houston, Texas, medical center. They show a smiling Giffords with short, darker hair wearing wire-rimmed glasses. “These photos reveal an upbeat image of Gabrielle Giffords,” spokesman C.J. Karamargin tells PEOPLE. “When you see the pictures you see that she has progressed in leaps and bounds. When they say that a picture is worth a thousand words, if ever that was true, it is true here.” In one of the images she’s with her mother, Gloria Giffords. “Gloria has been by her side throughout,” Karamargin said. “You can see the mother-daughter bond [in the photo]. It is an apt reflection of their relationship.” As for that smile, Karamargin said Giffords was beaming after watching the launch of space shuttle Endeavor captained by her husband. “She was in very, very good spirits. The reason was that she got to watch Mark ride off into space. She was thrilled by that. People who know her say they saw a boost in her spirits and her strength. And her doctors predicted this might happen,” Karamargin said. “Going to the launch was a tremendous milestone for her.” Giffords will soon have even more to smile about when she reaches another milestone. Doctors, Karamargin said, expect to release her from the hospital to an outpatient program. “They are preparing her to go home,” he said. “This is wonderful for her.”