Doctors: Giffords' abilities improving

HOUSTON -- Rep. Gabrielle Giffords has been told that she was shot. Her ability to walk and talk is improving. And doctors say there's a good chance she'll be able to attend her husband's space shuttle launch next month.

Doctors provided the new details about Giffords' condition Friday, their first official update since she began intensive rehabilitation in Houston on Jan. 26.

They described several milestones in her recovery. The developments include the removal of her breathing tube last week and her improving ability to walk with assistance and talk in complete sentences such as "I'm tired. I want to go to bed."

Dr. Imoigele Aisiku, her neurosurgeon, called the breathing tube removal a "fist-pump" moment.

Giffords' memory is also improving, and doctors believe she will not have lasting memory loss in the future.

But she does not recall the tragic event in Tucson that wounded her and 12 others and killed six people.

"She has been told both by her husband and by us, and I think she understands," Dr. Dong Kim, a neuroscientist, said. However, it remains unclear whether Giffords knows others were killed.

Doctors also said she is showing emotion at times, including smiles when she makes key progress.

"She has a personality that's already showing through," Kim said. "She's very upbeat, focused on getting better. She hasn't shown us depression, and she's just been very forward-looking and even with the speech she's not showing much frustration.

"That's Gabby. It's a constant, wonderful thing," he added.

The news of her progress has been welcomed in her hometown of Tucson, where her supporters held a benefit concert Thursday night to raise money for a fund created by a survivor of the attack. Rockers Alice Cooper and Jackson Browne were among the headline acts.