According to an in-depth look at Giffords' extraordinary rehab in Sunday's Arizona Republic, she is eagerly anticipating the hoopla around the final launch of the shuttle Endeavour, commanded by her husband Mark Kelly.
When she overheard him talking about limiting her participation in pre-launch events, she balked.
"No," Gifford said. "Whole thing."
She'll watch from a private location - a NASA tradition to protect families from public scrutiny in case of tragedy.
Four months after she was shot through the head by a would-be assassin, the congresswoman's doctors told the Arizona Republic she is "maybe in the top 1% of patients in terms of how far she's come, and how quickly she's gotten there."
She still has trouble talking, but she's getting close to walking without help.
"When I tell her that she's not going to be in a wheelchair forever, she believes that," Kelly told the paper.
"Right now she gets up and takes a couple steps. I think she'll probably use a wheelchair for, I don't know, maybe another three months."
Her hair, shaved for brain surgery, has been growing back but still is only about 2 inches long. A thin scar across the top of her forehead is already fading, and apart from some swelling, her face looks the same, friends report.
You know I have been inspired by a lot of people in my life, but this woman is literally blowing me away.
If the next report about Giffords recovery stated that she was training for the 2012 Summer Olympics I am not sure I would find that at all unbelievable.
Some people are constantly telling you they are amazing. Others just prove it.
