Giffords Takes First Trip Outdoors

Gabrielle Giffords was taken outside yesterday for her first fresh air and sunshine since she was shot in the head almost two weeks ago. Giffords—who can now stand, with assistance, and has attempted to speak—was taken on a brief stroll in a wheelchair to the Tucson University Medical Center's helipad, a center spokeswoman tells Reuters.

"It was a chance to see the mountains one more time before she leaves to go Houston tomorrow," the spokeswoman added. Doctors say daylight is important to help move Giffords—who will be transferred to a rehabilitation center today—back to a normal sleep pattern. Her husband, astronaut and shuttle commander Mark Kelly, says he is confident she will make a full recovery. "I've told her that," he said. "She'll be walking and talking in two months. You'll see her walking through the front door of this building." (More Tucson, Arizona stories.)