Gabrielle Giffords, the Arizona politician, said she had been "deeply disappointed" by the party political wrangling that brought the US to the brink of an unprecedented default, after her return to Congress for a vote on the debt-ceiling bill.To rapturous applause from both Republicans and Democrats, the convalescent congresswoman appeared in the House of Representatives with minutes left before the end of the vote, walking unsteadily and mouthing "thank you" to those who had leapt to their feet to welcome her back, including the Vice-President Joe Biden and the Tea Party favourite Michele Bachmann.Such a show of unity had been rare in the weeks leading to the vote, a fact Giffords, a Democrat, observed in a statement released afterwards."I have closely followed the debate over our debt ceiling and have been deeply disappointed at what's going on in Washington. I strongly believe that crossing the aisle for the good of the American people is more important than party politics," she said.
Giffords delights her doctors with House appearance
Rep. Gabrielle Giffords did not only shock her fellow members of Congress when she made an appearance on Monday, she shocked her doctors as well.
Rainer Gruessner, head surgeon at the University of Arizona's University Medical Center said most people with a wound as significant as Giffords' take at least a year to reach the point that she has.
"The fact that, halfway through the first year, she is able to travel, she is obviously able to understand the compromise of the debt ceiling, I think it just shows that she's on the road to recover and probably ahead of what we thought several months ago," Gruessner said.
Gruessner added that he did not expect Giffords to be in such good shape and that he was "very delighted" to see her progress.
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