Husband of Rep. Giffords: She’s a ‘really, really tough woman’

In his first extensive interview since the mass shootings Jan. 8 in Arizona, the husband of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) says the congresswoman has a long recovery ahead but is a “really, really tough woman.”

“We know that the recovery from these kind of injuries isn’t measured in days and weeks. It’s more like weeks and months,” Mark Kelly tells Diane Sawyer in an interview to be broadcast on “20/20” Tuesday night. “And so she’s got a long, tough road ahead of her. But, you know, she’s a really, really tough woman.”

{mosads}Doctors at University Medical Center in Tucson, Ariz., upgraded Giffords’s condition on Sunday from critical to serious and have removed her breathing tube.

Kelly, a Navy pilot and astronaut, also says in the interview he might be willing to meet with the parents of the shooting suspect, Jared Loughner, who faces five federal charges, including attempted assassination of a member of Congress. Six people were killed in the attack, and 13 others were injured.

“I’d probably see them,” says Kelly, according to excerpts released by ABC News. “You know, I don’t think it’s their fault. It’s not the parents’ fault. You know, I’d like to think I’m a person that’s, you know, somewhat forgiving. And, I mean, they’ve got to be hurting in this situation as much as much as anybody.

“Gabby has two stepdaughters, and I have children. And they must — I’m sure they love their son,” he said. “And they must be, you know, as distraught over this as all of us are.” 

Kelly said his wife has made major progress — enough so that she is now able to rub his back. 

“[It is] so typical of her. She’s in the ICU. You know, gone through this traumatic injury. And she spent 10 minutes giving me a neck massage,” Kelly said. “I keep telling her, I’m like, ‘Gabby, you’re in the ICU. You know, you don’t need — you know, you don’t need to be doing this.’ But it’s so typical of her that no matter how bad the situation might be for her, you know, she’s looking out for other people.

“I just stayed there because it seemed to comfort her,” he said. “You know, when somebody needs to be doing that for her or needs to be doing something for her, you know, she was doing that for me.”