Video: Gabrielle Giffords announces her resignation
Photo showcase: Gabrielle Giffords, from Congress to recovery
TUCSON, Ariz. — Rep. Gabrielle Giffords spent one of her last days as a congresswoman in Tucson on Monday, finishing the meeting she started on the morning she was shot and bidding farewell to constituents who supported her through her long recovery.
Giffords spent time Monday at her office with other survivors of the Jan. 8, 2011, shooting that killed six people and injured 13. She hugged and talked with survivors, including Suzi Hileman, who was shot three times while trying to save 9-year-old Christina-Taylor Green. The little girl died from a gunshot wound to the chest.
Others who met with Giffords included Pat Maisch, who was hailed as a hero for wrestling a gun magazine from the shooter, and Daniel Hernandez, Giffords' intern who helped save her life by trying to stop her bleeding until an ambulance arrived.
"It was very touching," said Maisch, who was not injured in the attack. "I thanked her for her service, wished her well, and she just looked beautiful."
Giffords, D-Ariz., announced Sunday that she would resign from Congress this week to concentrate on her recovery. Maisch said she was sad that Giffords would no longer be her congresswoman.
"But I want her to do what's best for her," she said. "She's got to take care of herself."
Giffords also visited the Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona. The food bank established the Gabrielle Giffords Family Assistance Center with $215,000 it received following shooting. Giffords' husband, retired astronaut Mark Kelly, said that the best way for the public to help Giffords was to donate to one of her favorite charities.
The center has helped 900 families get on food stamps in the last year and helps the needy seek assistance with housing, insurance, clothing and other basic needs.
"It's a wonderful thing that she gets to come here and see the center we built," said Bill Carnegie, CEO of the food bank. "But it's also her exit from Congress. I'm concerned about the future."
Giffords was expected in Washington on Tuesday for President Barack Obama's State of the Union address.
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Copyright ©2012 Omaha World-Herald®. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, displayed or redistributed for any purpose without permission from the Omaha World-Herald.
