Giffords speaks; doctors pleased

Photo

Photo by: Susan Walsh

ASSOCIATED PRESS

In this photo taken Wednesday, Jan. 5, 2011, Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., takes part in a reenactment of her swearing-in, on Capitol Hill in Washington. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona was shot in the head Saturday, Jan. 8, 2011 when an assailant opened fire outside a grocery store during a meeting with constituents, killing at least five people and wounding several others in a rampage that rattled the nation.

Associated Press

HOUSTON

Rep. Gabrielle Giffords is able to speak: She asked for toast at breakfast one recent morning.

Her ability to say even just a word a month after being shot in the head pleased her family, friends and doctors. It also may provide valuable clues about the condition of her injured brain.

“We’re elated at this,” said her spokesman C.J. Karamargin, who added that she is speaking “more and more.” “We always knew Gabby is a fighter and that she’s not going to let this thing win. And you know, every day is proof of that.”

Few details have emerged about her recovery since she began intensive rehabilitation at TIRR Memorial Hermann hospital late last month. But doctors not involved in her care said her simple request could indicate higher-level cognition.

The lawmaker apparently was asking for something in an appropriate context, said Dr. Richard Riggs, chair of physical medicine and rehabilitation at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.

“It was a desire. It was a want. It was something that would be preferable rather than just a basic need,” Riggs said. “It was encouraging. I was very excited to see it. And the fact that it was an appropriate context gives it more meaning.”