Former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords was sent off by crowds of people from Tucson five years ago today in an ambulance, on her way to a Houston rehab hospital.
Well-wishers started gathering outside D-M and at UMC before 8 a.m. Some made signs and said prayers. It was described as "Tucson at its best," by her spokesman.
She remembered the event in a Facebook post, writing: "Five years ago today I left the hospital in Tucson to start my rehab in Houston. It wasn’t easy, but I never stopped fighting to get better!"
Five years ago today I left the hospital in Tucson to start my rehab in Houston. It wasn’t easy, but I never stopped fighting to get better!
Posted by Gabby Giffords on Thursday, January 21, 2016
"Inside an ambulance that drove slowly from University Medical Center to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, paramedics rolled down a small window so Giffords could hear the applause of people outside, said her spokesman, C.J. Karamargin. When they did, Giffords smiled and began to tear up, Karamargin said," from a story by Andrea Kelly, Carmen Duarte and Rhonda Bodfield in the Arizona Daily Star on Jan. 22, 2011.
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Giffords was shot in the head Jan. 8, 2011 during a meet-and-greet with constituents in Tucson. The attempted assassination left six people dead and 13 wounded.
Photo gallery: Rep. Giffords departs Tucson
Rep. Gabrielle Giffords is transferred to Davis-Monthan AFB for a flight to Houston for rehabilitation.
