Gabby Giffords Stuns The DNC Audience With Her Speech

She was nearly assassinated nine years ago. But former House representative Gabby Giffords stepped up to the plate for her party in an appearance tonight which she teased in a Twitter post, saying: "I worked really hard to get my speech ready for tonight—I hope you'll be watching!"

Giffords didn't disappoint. In a pre-recorded video, she was shown walking carefully to the podium and against a backdrop, she talked about the daily struggle she endures to overcome the permanent injuries she sustained in the assassination attempt. Giffords, who faced an almost insurmountable recovery, stunned the audience with her inspiring speech, clearly stating, "I've known the darkest of days, days of pain and uncertain recovery. But confronted by despair I've summoned hope. Confronted by paralysis and aphasia, I responded with grit and determination" (via YouTube).

Gabby Giffords became a victim of gun violence when she, along with 17 others, were gunned down outside a supermarket in Tucson, Arizona in 2011. She was talking to a couple about Medicare, and the chief judge for the District Court for Arizona John M. Roll had walked by, when a gunman approached the group and started shooting. At that time, Giffords was seen as the target of the attack which left her critically injured, as the bullet had gone through her brain. Six of the victims in that shooting died, including the chief justice, and a 9-year-old child (via The New York Times). She was released from hospital five months after the shooting, where she had been trying to regain her strength and trying to relearn basic skills like walking and talking, because she was shot through the left side of her brain which controls speech and communication (via the Washington Post).

In her speech, Giffords spoke to all the hardships she faced, saying, "I put one foot in front of the other. I found one word, and then I found another. My recovery is a daily fight, but fighting makes me stronger. Words once came easily — today I struggle to speak. But I have not lost my voice. America needs all of us to speak out, even when you have to fight to find the words... " (via YouTube).

Gabby Giffords, simply put, is an inspiration unrivaled.