"A Miracle"

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Giffords' progress a source of jubilation

Posted: January 13th, 2011 -- 11:15 AM ET

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CNN Wire Staff

Tucson, Arizona (CNN) -- They described it as "a miracle."

Shot in the head less than a week ago, U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords opened her eyes briefly for the first time Wednesday, with her husband, her parents and other members of Congress in the room.

"It was extraordinary," said Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-New York, who was holding Giffords' hand at the time. "It was a miracle to witness."

The incident occurred shortly after President Barack Obama had visited Giffords in her hospital room. Less than an hour later, given permission to disclose the information by Mark Kelly, Giffords' husband, Obama electrified a memorial-service crowd and a national television audience by revealing one of the most promising pieces of news about Gifford's condition to emerge since an assassination attempt against her on Saturday.

Giffords was squeezing and stroking Gillibrand's hand, as doctors previously said she had been able to do.

Giffords "absolutely could hear everything we were saying," Gillibrand said. "And Debbie (Wasserman Schultz, D-Florida) and I were telling her how much she was inspiring the nation with her courage, her strength, and we were talking about the things we wanted to do as soon as she was better."

Gillibrand mentioned having another night out with Giffords and her husband for beer and pizza. And Wasserman Schultz recounted telling her, "Come on, you've got to get better, because we expect you up in New Hampshire this summer" at Wasserman Schultz's vacation home.

"And just as I said that, that's when she suddenly was struggling to open ... her eyes," Wasserman Schultz said. "First just a little bit. And the doctors couldn't believe it. They said, 'This is such a good time.' "

Kelly saw her struggling, Gillibrand said, and he and the others began to encourage her, saying, "Open your eyes, Gabby. Open your eyes."

And Giffords did -- actually opening only one eye, as the other remains bandaged, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs told reporters.

"She took a moment to focus, you could see she was focusing," Gillibrand said. "And then Mark said ... 'Gabby, if you can see me, if you can see me, give us a thumbs-up ... She didn't only give a thumbs-up, she literally raised her entire hand. We were just -- we couldn't stop crying ... It was just one of those moments that life brings you so rarely."

But Giffords didn't stop there, Gillibrand said. She reached out and grabbed her husband "and is touching him and starts to really choke him like she was really trying to hug him." He asked her to touch his wedding ring, "and she touches his ring, then she grabs his whole watch and wrist and then the doctor was just so excited, he said, 'You don't understand ... this is amazing what she is doing right now and beyond our greatest hopes.' "

Of the six patients the hospital is still treating from Saturday's shooting, Giffords is the only one in critical condition. Two others are in serious condition and the other three are in fair condition, the hospital has said.

A 9-year-old girl, Christina Green, and Arizona's chief federal judge, John Roll, are among the dead, along with Gabe Zimmerman, a Giffords staffer. Green will be laid to rest on Thursday.

Authorities say Giffords was the target of the shooting. Thirteen other people suffered gunshot wounds, the Pima County Sheriff has said, while others were injured trying to flee the scene.

Tucson resident Jared Lee Loughner, 22, is facing federal charges in the attack.

The milestone is only the latest for the Arizona congresswoman, who doctors said could respond to commands even upon arrival at a hospital trauma unit -- she squeezed a doctor's hand when asked to do so -- less than an hour after the shooting. Even when her prognosis was grim, she has consistently defied the odds and met or exceeded expectations.

Safeway, which owns the grocery store where the shooting took place, took out a full-page ad in Tucson's Arizona Daily Star newspaper Thursday, saying it is proud to be part of a community that cares so deeply about one another. Since Saturday, Safeway employees have been praying for the victims and their families, and the company is working to reopen the store, it said. Supermarkets pride themselves on reopening quickly following disasters, it noted, but Saturday's events were not a tornado or hurricane.

Doctors have cautiously described her recovery as going according to plan, so far absent of any complications or issues, and have said throughout that she has been able to communicate when they lessen her sedation and allow her to awaken.

"Other than the birth of my kids, this was the most incredible feeling, to see literally one of your closest friends struggle to come to you, her family, her friends," said Wasserman Schultz, who spoke to CNN's "AC360" along with Gillibrand. "We know how strong Gabby is ... You could see all the strength pouring out of her to touch her husband."

"She wanted to tell us, 'I'm with you,' " Gillibrand said.

Dr. Michael Lemole Jr., chief of neurosurgery at University Medical Center, told the women he previously had discounted what emotion, friendship and family can do as far as inspiring a person to recover. "I just witnessed the impact of friendship," Lemole said, according to Gillibrand.

"It was, as you can imagine, a glorious moment," said House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, who was also in the room.

The road ahead for Giffords may be long. Her recovery may last a lifetime, like that of Jim Brady, a former White House press secretary under President Ronald Reagan who was shot in the head in 1981. Several parallels have been drawn between the two. Now 70 and blind, Brady told CNN's Jim Acosta this week he routinely goes to physical therapy near his Delaware home.

"Life will always be good again," Brady said. "It may be different. But that doesn't mean it's bad."

Still, Giffords has been described by many as tenacious and fearless.

"Our boss is a fighter, and she's fighting," C.J. Karamargin, Giffords' spokesman, told "AC360." "And we saw that today."

CNN's Steve Dolce contributed to this report.