Gabrielle Giffords to be in ABC special
Reporter: Craig Smith
TUCSON (KGUN9-TV) - It's becoming less clear whether Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords will grant a regular on-camera interview when she and her husband, retired astronaut Mark Kelly are the subject of a special program on ABC News November 14th.
Giffords has not spoken in public since Tucson's mass shooting January 8th.
The last public video of Gabrielle Giffords was her surprise appearance in the Capitol to vote on the contentious debt ceiling issue.
Since then only those close to her have known first hand how well she can move and talk as she works to recover from the shot fired into her head January 8th.
Now, the day before her book comes out, she and her husband Mark Kelly will be the topic of an ABC special with anchor Diane Sawyer. It will cover her romance with Kelly and her fight to regain her abilities.
In a way, the special may move Giffords closer to a life back in the mainstream---an inspiring idea for Suzi Hileman, who's working to recover from her own bullet wounds that day.
She says, "Gabby's my role model for playing hurt. She took a bullet to the brain and was on the floor of Congress seven months later. Would you be back at work. I don't know that I would be back at work. Every step, every day is a new, anybody who's been through rehab knows that every day is a new adventure and that sometimes it's two steps forward and one step back but you keep your eye on the prize and you go forward and I just look at her smiling face and she inspires me."
Retired Army Colonel Bill Badger was wounded January 8th but was still able to team up with another man to knock down and subdue the gunman.
He was pleased to hear there will be a high profile sign of Giffords progress.
Colonel Badger says, "And this is one of the things we've been waiting for. You know, I was thrilled when I saw her cast her vote in Washington, DC and I didn't know she was gonna be there until I saw it on TV. And then this now, this is what we've all prayed for and hoped for, a full recovery and this is progress and we'll continue to see her progress and I think it's great."
After reports by the likes of Associated Press stating Giffords would do an interview, Giffords spokesman Mark Kimble was quoted as saying Giffords has not decided if she will do an on-camera interview with ABC. Later he simply referred us to the book publisher and to ABC.
We still haven't heard from the publisher.
ABC's marketing department talks about an exclusive but never mentions the word, "interview".
That gives ABC--and Giffords a lot of flexibility in what they actually show.
With the airdate in November she may have much better abilities by then and with that time may feel ready to go on camera.
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