Mark Kelly, retired astronaut and husband of Gabby Giffords, announces run for US Senate

[DFW]

40. Gabby and I were friends before she was shot.

We had rung in the New Year of 2011 together with some friends at a large gathering in South Carolina, and had planned to have dinner together in Washington two weeks later. On January 8th that year, a Saturday, I took a morning plane from New York City to Dallas, where i had some routine stuff to do before heading on up to D.C. In the taxi to the house, I booted up the laptop for the latest news, and was just dumbstruck. I didn't think it was a mistake, but didn't want to believe it, either. Confirmation was, alas, not long in coming.

When I next saw her, it was just after Christmas, 2013, and I had no idea if she would even remember who I was. That was no minor brain injury she had sustained. I needen't have worried. When she saw me coming from across the room, she let out a squeal of delight and reached out for me with her one good arm. She may be imprisoned inside her gunshot-caused disability, but inside there, it's still her. Just an amazing woman.