Last night I'm sure most of you tuned into to watch the ABC Diane Sawyer interview with Congresswoman Gabby Gifford and her devoted husband.  I'll never forget the morning when I heard the breaking news from Arizona of the shooting. Congresswoman Gifford had been struck in the head by a bullet and six others were dead.At the time of the shooting, Gabby Gifford a vibrant smart 40-year-old, who loved riding motor bikes and horses, had just learned that she and her Astronaut husband, Mark Kelly, married since 2007, were going to announce that the in vitro fertilization treatments had been a success and a new baby was on the way.

Instead on January 8, Congresswoman Gifford was shot in the head at point blank range by a mentally disturbed man at one of her "Congress on Your Corner" meet and greets in Arizona.  In an instant her life took a sharp and horrible turn.

From the beginning of Miss Giffords’ recovery for her speech and physical movement, Mark Kelly decided to film the healing journey, so that his wife would never have any doubt about what she had been through.

Mr Kelly’s footage is the core of the ABC special with Diane Sawyer and an inspiration for brain injury patients. Mr Kelly’s own take on his film project: optimism is a form of healing and hope is a form of love.

The TV special is, in part, a promotion of the book entitled Gabby by Mr Kelly and Miss Giffords. But any presumed ulterior motive quickly fades from thought as viewers watch a shaven Giffords struggle to remember words with her therapists, cry with frustration, then laugh, and even sing the Cyndi Lauper tune “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun”. The power of musical therapy proves extraordinary.

The show reveals a determined woman who has come a long way but has a long way to go. Interviewed sitting close to her husband, Miss Giffords cannot speak in complete sentences although her doctor says that in no way means that the thoughts are not there. Her husband said his greatest hope is that one day she will be able to “string a bunch of sentences together”.

The journey of Gabby Gifford brought tears my eyes, but most importantly, it caused me to be more thankful. I have been a little mired down with my struggles and ups and downs lately, but when I listened to this courageous woman's story  and what she went through, it brought me to my knees. God bless Gabby Gifford and may she live a long and happy life!

I am making a true effort to look beyond myself, and hopefully be a inspiration to others, even in a small way! This made think of one of my favorite quotes -  With the past, I have nothing to do; nor with the future. I live now. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

What's your advice for living each day to the fullest?

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