Gabby

by Gabrielle Giffords

  We also want to thank Gabby’s colleagues in Congress, especially Kirsten Gillibrand, Adam Smith, and Debbie Wasserman Schultz, whose support continues to mean the world to us each and every day. It has been very helpful in her recovery to know that she is missed on Capitol Hill and that these friendships are something special. As Gabby continues to recuperate, it is reassuring to know that her team can turn to smart and effective members of Congress who can help make sure that the district’s issues and needs are being met. We also want to thank Congressman David Schweikert. Though Gabby doesn’t know him well, he has been a real friend to her in her time of need.

  Gabby also received help from Congressman Ted Poe of Texas who, despite a difference in party and politics, was willing to help Gabby with an issue she cares deeply about—border security. He is a good friend. We also want to thank Gabby’s friend and colleague, Congressman Jeff Flake, who drove from Phoenix on the day of the shooting so he could be of service. Thanks also to Nancy Pelosi and Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer for their genuine concern and thoughtfulness. John Lawrence, the chief-of-staff to Leader Pelosi, has been a trusted friend and advisor to both of us. We appreciate his friendship and support. We want to thank the officers of the Capitol Police security detail who have been with Gabby since the day she was injured. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson and her Houston office provided us with logistic and office help during Gabby’s stay at TIRR. We are very grateful for all of Gabby’s friends on Capitol Hill. We have received so many cards, letters, e-mails, and phone calls of encouragement. Gabby is really looking forward to getting back to work.

  I also want to personally thank President Barack Obama and Admiral Mike Mullen, former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, for calling frequently, checking on Gabby and me and offering their assistance during the weeks after Gabby was injured.

  I could not have returned to my role as the commander of space shuttle Endeavour’s final flight without the support of so many people at NASA. To my crew members, Greg Johnson, Mike Fincke, Roberto Vittori, Drew Feustel, and Greg Chamitoff, thanks for having the confidence in me and standing by me when I returned to training after being away for over a month. Thanks for working hard and being a stellar team. We also want to thank their spouses: Cari Johnson, Renita Fincke, Valeria Vittori, Indi Feustel, and Chantal Caviness, who helped us in every way they could. To my Flight Directors Gary Horlacher, Derek Hassman, Richard Jones, and Tony Ceccaci, thanks for all of the hard work and support. This was an incredible team effort and your leadership was instrumental to the success of STS-134. I am grateful to C.J. Sturckow for selflessly filling in for me as mission commander during the early days after Gabby was injured. And to all of the folks who worked on space shuttle Endeavour and got it ready for its final flight, thank you for giving us an incredible spacecraft that got us safely to the International Space Station and back to Earth sixteen days later. I also appreciate the support of my flight surgeon and friend, Dr. Joe Dervay, NASA psychologist Dr. Walt Sipes, flight surgeon Rick Senter, and the flight medicine office led by Dr. J.D. Polk. I could not have completed this mission without your support. Thanks also to Beth Turner, Kelly Curtis, our STS-134 family escorts, and the astronaut family support office for all of the help they provided both in Houston and at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. I also appreciate the help of NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden. Leadership begins at the top and it was nice to know that Gabby and I had a friend in Charlie. Thanks to my boss and astronaut classmate, Dr. Peggy Whitson, whose confidence in me during these trying times was greatly appreciated. And a special thanks goes out to my colleague Piers Sellers who immediately flew to Tucson on the day that Gabby was injured and stayed by my side to help in every way possible until the day I returned from space. He has a big heart and has been a great friend to both of us.

  We are all forever grateful to our friends Amber and Steve Mostyn, who were so generous in assisting Gabby’s parents while they were in Houston. We want to thank our friends Ron and Carmel Garan who provided help to Gabby’s staff. I am personally indebted to Katherine Jacobsen for all of the help she provided me in taking over the management of Gabby’s personal affairs. The paperwork alone would have been a nightmare without her.

  This is the first book I have been involved with. It has been a great experience, though difficult at times. I’m thankful, every day, that we selected Jeff Zaslow to collaborate with us on this project. I really enjoyed the countless hours I spent discussing our story with Jeff, and the process of putting the words on paper. I’ve come to appreciate the time and effort needed to write a book. This certainly would not have been the same book with any other collaborator. I truly appreciate Jeff’s passion and drive to help deliver something very special. We also thank Jeff’s wife, Sherry Margolis; agent, Gary Morris; and researcher, Korey Tucker, for their helpful input on the manuscript.

  Many thanks to our attorney Bob Barnett for his sound advice and guidance through this process. Nan Graham, our editor, and Susan Moldow, our publisher, at Scribner have been great to work with as well. They’ve been positive and encouraging but had just the right touch in propelling Jeff and us forward. We also are indebted to many others at Simon & Schuster, including: Brian Belfiglio, Elisa Shokoff, Paul Whitlatch, Roz Lippel, Rex Bonomelli, Daniel Burgess, Mia Crowley, Erich Hobbing, and CEO Carolyn Reidy. Great thanks to all of you for your help with this project.

  We also want to thank Brad Holland, who has been taking care of Gabby’s place and her new fish while she’s been recovering in Houston. We value his friendship. Marc Winkelman has been a constant presence and makes Gabby happy with every visit or phone call. Then there are all of our friends who have touched our lives in many ways. We could not name all of them here and I am certain I overlooked many I should have included. But you know who you are, and please know that we both appreciate your support and are forever grateful.

  Finally, many thanks go out to Gabby’s Cactus Roots. These are all of her supporters around the country, and we’ve come to consider them part of our family. They have sent tens of thousands of cards and letters and every one of them is special to Gabby and to me.

  Thank you!

  ABOUT THE AUTHORS

  A third-generation Arizonan, Gabrielle Giffords has represented Arizona’s 8th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives since 2007. She serves on the House Armed Services Committee and is the ranking member of the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology’s Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics. A graduate of Scripps College, she has a masters degree from Cornell University. She was a Fulbright Scholar in Mexico and a fellow at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.

  Mark Kelly was a captain in the United States Navy when he commanded the final mission of space shuttle Endeavour in May 2011. A veteran of four space flights to the International Space Station, he is a graduate of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy and holds a masters degree from the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School. As a naval aviator he flew thirty-nine combat missions in Operation Desert Storm in 1991.

  Wall Street Journal columnist Jeffrey Zaslow was the coauthor, with Randy Pausch, of The Last Lecture, the #1 New York Times bestseller now translated into forty-eight languages. His other bestsellers include The Girls from Ames, and as coauthor, Highest Duty, with Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger.

  Six-year-old Gabby is pensive in a straw hat. (Giffords Family)

  As a fifth grader at Tanque Verde Elementary School in Tucson, Gabby was the “obvious choice” to play the title character in the musical Annie. Her half-shepherd, half-Airedale terrier starred alongside her as Sandy. (Giffords Family)

  Gabby, age eight, proudly sports a cap from El Campo Tire and Service Centers. For many years, El Campo’s slogan was “The Buck-Stretchers.” (Giffords Family)

  Mark (right) and Scott look ready to race in August 1964. They are six months old. (Kelly Family)

  On the back of this snapshot from August 1970, Mark’s mother wrote: “Twins are ready
to take these fish over to a neighbor.” Their dad and their paternal grandfather caught forty fish on an all-night charter boat. (Kelly Family)

  The eight-year-old Kelly twins (Mark, left) got snow cones on the boardwalk in Wildwood, New Jersey. (Kelly Family)

  Mark likes this photograph of Gabby with her “wild, frizzed-out ’80s hair.” (Giffords Family)

  Gabby wore this traditional Mennonite dress while living with Mennonites in the Mexican state of Chihuahua during her year as a Fulbright Scholar in 1994. (Giffords Family)

  Gabby knew how to ride scooters and motorcycles, and how to fix them. (Giffords Family)

  The message her parents wrote next to this photograph of Gabby and her mom in her 1993 Scripps College yearbook reads: “Gabby . . . You’ve given us so much more than we could ever reciprocate. But beyond all that, thanks for just being you.” (Courtesy of Scripps College)

  Gabby graduated from Scripps, the all-female college in Claremont, California, in 1993. Her family was there to celebrate (from left to right, Spencer, Gloria, and Melissa). (Giffords Family)

  Gabby and her dad were together on the day before she earned a master’s degree in regional planning from Cornell. Her degree helped her land a job at Price Waterhouse in New York City. (Giffords Family)

  Mark (left) says that “even though both my mother and father were cops, some people considered Scott and me to be borderline juvenile delinquents.” (Kelly Family)

  Mark (right) flew thirty-nine combat missions during the Gulf War, most with Paul Fujimura. They were stationed on the aircraft carrier the USS Midway. (Kelly Family)

  Richard Kelly was there to see his sons Mark (center) and Scott graduate from test-pilot school at the Naval Air Station in Patuxent River, Maryland, in 1994. (Kelly Family)

  The Arizona Daily Star ran a story about Gabby when she was preparing to sell El Campo in November 1999. The newspaper caption reads: “Giffords is quietly educating herself on political issues.” (© Jeffry Scott, Arizona Daily Star)

  Gabby was the face of El Campo Tire. (© Hank Brandt Advertising)

  When Gif Giffords, ever the philosopher, was photographed for a piece in the Arizona Daily Star, he was carrying a book called The Way of Life. (© Arizona Daily Star)

  Gabby and Mark returned to China and visited the Great Wall in 2005. The couple met on a 2003 trip to China sponsored by the National Committee on United States–China Relations. (Giffords/Kelly Family)

  In May 2005, an Arizona Daily Star editorial gave mock awards to politicians and dubbed Gabby Arizona’s “Cheeriest Lawmaker,” writing: “Giffords wins praise from people on both sides of the aisle for her intelligence, her diligence at research, and the way she treats state senator like a real job instead of a title.” Gabby also earned a real award from the Arizona State Senate. (Raoul Erickson)

  At their wedding on November 10, 2007, the emcee at the reception, Robert Reich, toasted “to a bride who moves at a velocity that exceeds that of anyone else in Washington, and to a groom who moves at a velocity that exceeds seventeen thousand miles per hour.” (Marc Winkelman)

  Scott (left) was “my twin brother and best man,” says Mark. (Marc Winkelman)

  Mark’s daughters Claire (left) and Claudia were nine and twelve years old when Mark and Gabby married. (© Daniel Snyder Photographer)

  Gabby and Mark attended Laura and George Bush’s Christmas party at the White House in 2008. (Giffords/Kelly Family)

  Mark arranged to deliver roses and a note to Gabby a minute after he was safely in space during his 2008 shuttle mission. Gabby’s dad, Spencer, watched the launch with her. (Marc Winkelman)

  Gabby and Mark rode mules on a visit to the Arizona border. Congresswoman Giffords worked hard to get more federal support for border security. (Office of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords)

  Gabby and Mark hiked in the Grand Canyon on November 27, 2010, just three weeks after she was elected to a third term in Congress. (Raoul Erickson)

  At a community meeting near the border in Douglas, Arizona, Gabby named her top priorities for her second term in Congress as “border security, economic security, national security, and energy security.” (© P. K. Weis/www.SouthWestPhotoBank.com)

  Gabby talks to Iraqi troops during a 2007 congressional delegation trip. (Office of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords)

  Gabby visited Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson during her 2010 campaign. She is seen here climbing into an A-6E Intruder, the same type of aircraft that Mark flew in the Gulf War. (Office of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords)

  Gabby and Mark attended a Girl Scout event in her district. Gabby wore the pin she’d saved since her own days as a Girl Scout. (© P. K. Weis/www.SouthWestPhotoBank.com)

  Gabby and Mark watched the 2010 election returns in a room in the Tucson Marriott University Park with (from left to right) friend Marc Winkelman; Gabby’s chief of staff, Pia Carusone; her district director, Ron Barber; and staffer Jennifer Cox. (Giffords for Congress)

  Standing between Mark and Gabby as she addressed the crowd of supporters on election night 2010 is Rodd McLeod, her longtime campaign manager. (© A. T. Willett/www.atwillett.com)

  The new Speaker of the House John Boehner swore Gabby into her third term on January 5, 2011, three days before she was critically wounded. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

  Gabby’s staffers at the start of the 2011 legislative session included (from left to right) Ron Barber, the Arizona district director; Gabe Zimmerman, community outreach director; and C. J. Karamargin, communications director. Gabe Zimmerman was killed in the shooting, along with five others. Barber was one of thirteen wounded. (Stephanie Coronado)

  Constituent Matthew Laos, an Army Reservist, came to the Congress on Your Corner event on January 8, 2011, to show Gabby his military commendation following his tour of duty in Afghanistan. Seconds later, Gabby and eighteen others were shot. (Office of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords)

  The Purple Heart on Gabby’s bed in the ICU at the University Medical Center in Tucson was dropped off at the hospital by an anonymous soldier the day after she was shot. (Mark Kelly)

  President Barack Obama visited Gabby in the hospital on January 12, 2011, before the memorial service in Tucson for the victims of the shooting. (Pia Carusone)

  The entrance wound at the front of Gabby’s forehead and the exit wound at the back are visible in this 3-D reconstruction from the CAT scan of her skull taken on January 8. (Mark Kelly)

  This 3-D reconstruction was made after Gabby’s initial neurosurgery. Dr. Mike Lemole removed most of the skull on the left side of her head to reduce the pressure on her brain. (Mark Kelly)

  Like Mark, Dr. Peter Rhee, Gabby’s lead trauma surgeon, served as a U.S. Navy Captain. (Mark Kelly)

  Thousands of people who were grieving and rooting for Gabby left flowers, stuffed animals, candles, and other mementos outside her congressional office in Tucson. (Guy Atchley/azphotoguy.com)

  Gabby’s chief of staff, Pia Carusone, happened to be taking photos on March 12, 2011, at the moment when Gabby grabbed a newspaper and learned about the other victims of the shooting. (Pia Carusone)

  Gabby hugged her Houston neurosurgeon, Dr. Dong Kim, on the day she was discharged from TIRR Memorial Hermann in June 2011. (Gloria Giffords)

  Mark drove Gabby to the launchpad in a rented convertible to take a closer look at space shuttle Endeavour during the first launch attempt in April 2011. Due to technical issues, it would be nearly a month before Mark got into space. (Gloria Giffords)

  On May 16, 2011, Scott, Gabby, Claire, and Claudia watched from the roof of the Launch Control Center as Mark blasted off in Endeavour. (Gloria Giffords)

  Mark and his fellow STS-134 astronauts and their spouses, without Gabby, gathered for the traditional prelaunch photograph. (NASA)

  Mark filmed this video for U2 while aboard the International Space Station. It was used at every concert during their North American tour to introduce the song “Beautiful Day.” Mark told the crowd, “I’m look
ing forward to coming home. Tell my wife I love her very much.” (NASA)

  “Though Gabby grew up in Arizona, a daughter of the desert, she loves the ocean more than anyone I’ve ever known,” says Mark. This was the memorable moment they had together on the beach on NASA’s “space coast” before the first launch attempt. (Pia Carusone)

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