As Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords continues her recovery in a Houston hospital after being shot through the brain during the January 8, shooting rampage in Tucson, she still hasn't been told about the extent of the attack and, presumably, the deaths of six people killed during the rampage.
One of Giffords' aides, Pia Carusone, appeared on CBS' The Early Show this morning and says the congresswoman knows something horrible happened, but has not been told about the severity of the attack.
"Doctors have said it's not really fair, as you can imagine, to tell
someone something so tragic and someone that might not have the ability
to ask the detailed questions that someone will have when they hear this
news," she says.
Giffords has shown tremendous improvement since the attack -- she's been
able to stand with the help of hospital staff, move all of her limbs,
eat, and carry out simple conversations. Carusone says she'll be given
the details of the tragedy, and told about the deaths of aide Gabriel
Zimmerman and her friends federal Judge John Roll, when she's "at a higher level of communication," .
Giffords has been mentioned as a possible Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Senator Jon Kyl.
Prior to the shooting, Giffords was said to have been considering a run
for the seat, but the deadly attack stalled any further plans. As we
mentioned yesterday, Giffords would probably be the best chance the
Democrats have at taking the seat -- however, it's a little too soon for
local lefties to be putting all their eggs in that basket if they stand
any chance at sending a Democrat to the Senate.