PHOENIX — Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords spoke for the first time since she was shot in the head, her spokesman said Wednesday, yet another significant milestone in her recovery from a traumatic brain injury.
Giffords first spoke within the past few days and is speaking “more and more,” spokesman C.J. Karamargin said Wednesday. He didn’t know what her first words were but said that at breakfast one morning she asked for toast.
“She’s working very hard, and it’s paying off,” he said. “We’re elated at this. 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.”
In a Facebook post Tuesday, Giffords’ husband, Mark Kelly, said his wife had her appetite back and was eating three times a day, “even though it’s hospital food.”
Kelly, a NASA astronaut, said last week that he expects his wife to be well enough to be at his space launch in two months.
Meanwhile, the FBI and the Pima County Sheriff’s Office have finished their investigations into the Tucson shooting, spokesmen for the two agencies said Wednesday.
A sheriff’s spokesman said his agency’s case was turned over to the FBI. An FBI spokesman said all materials have been turned over to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for prosecution.
Investigators interviewed witnesses and survivors of the Jan. 8 shooting as well as those who know 22-year-old Jared Loughner, who is accused of carrying out the shooting that killed six people and wounded 13, including Giffords.
Loughner’s next court hearing is set for March 9.
