In a poignant interview with a US television network ABC, Congresswoman Giffords was asked by journalist Diane Sawyer whether rehabilitation had been painful or hard: “It’s difficult,” she responded.
The gunman, Jared Lee Loughner, has been charged in the shooting spree that killed six people and wounded 12. Ms Giffords has been in rehabilitation in Houston and had made few public appearances in the 10 months since she was wounded.
At a ceremony in Washington in October, Ms Giffords awarded her husband, Navy Captain Mark Kelly, two medals to honour his 25 years of service with the Navy and NASA.
ABC said its special presentation will be broadcast in conjunction with the release on 15 November of a memoir by the couple entitled Gabby: A Story of Courage and Hope.