Gabby Giffords Releases Emotional Audio Message to Constituents

In a poignant audio message released on Tuesday, Rep. Gabrielle Giffords addresses her southern Arizona constituents, telling them that she misses them and plans to be home soon. Giffords, who says that "representing Arizona is my honor," also promised her constituents that she is "getting better."

"I'm getting stronger. I'm getting better," Giffords says. "I miss you. I miss Tuscon. I miss blue skies."

She acknowledges that "it's been a hard year for all of us" and that she will "speak better" as she wants to "get back to representing Arizona."

"I will see you real soon. Thank you," she says.

Listen to Giffords' audio message below:

Giffords, who is still recovering from a traumatic brain injury sustained in a shooting spree where six others were killed, also gave her first televised interview on Monday to ABC's Diane Sawyer. During the interview, Giffords and her husband, Mark Kelly, spoke about the long road to recovery.

"Better. Better. Working hard," Giffords said.

National Journal adds:

Giffords is still struggling to find the right words to form sentences, after months of speech and physical therapy to recover from injuries sustained when a bullet entered the left side of her brain. Mark Kelly, Giffords' husband, told ABC on Tuesday that she's starting to string sentences together—one complete sentence followed by another—even though he said that's not as evident in the interview tape with Sawyer.

In the book "Gabby: A Story of Courage and Hope," by Giffords and Kelly, the Democratic congresswoman said she wants to return to Capitol Hill and is considering a run for reelection if she can, ABC reports.

Watch a clip of the interview below:

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