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Rep. Gabrielle Giffords Smiling, Talking 11 Months After Shooting

When Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords woke up in a rehab hospital in Houston weeks after she was shot by her attacker, Giffords stared off into the distance, seemingly unaware of where or who she was. No one knew if she would ever speak or walk again.

That moment, so full with hope and despair, was recorded by her husband, Mark Kelly, who documented much of her effort to battle back from her catastrophic head wound. She had to relearn even reflex motions as small as nodding her head. At her lowest point, Giffords was not even able to smile.

Now, for the first time since the attack at a Tucson supermarket, Giffords spoke publicly; doing her best to sum up the nine months of pain and rehabilitation she's endured. This happened on Monday, Nov. 14, 2011, when Gabrielle Giffords and Mark Kelly shared their story with Diane Sawyer exclusively on ABC.

"How do you feel?" Diane Sawyer asked Giffords during her time with her and Kelly. It is the first time the two have shared their story since the attack.

"Pretty good," Giffords said.

"Is it painful?" Sawyer asked.

"It's difficult," Giffords said. "Difficult."

It had been a journey of astonishing tenacity and determination. Giffords had a one in 10 chance of surviving the shooting. She not only survived, but has come farther than anyone could have imagined in the months since, fighting her way one breath and one hard-fought word at a time.

By her side the entire time was Kelly, an astronaut who shortly after the shooting commanded his final space mission; he retired from NASA in August.

Kelly and Giffords' mother were ever-present throughout the never-before-seen home video, which they taped to help document her recovery. The head wound she received on Jan. 8, 2011 in Tucson was a shot straight into her forehead as she was meeting constituents at a "Congress on Your Corner" event.

Kelly made the videos completely certain that his wife would recover and that she would want to know what happened to her.

"I just thought, she's going to ask, 'OK, what was all that like?'" Kelly said.

Each day, he taped the small milestones that marked her progress, from her first days at the Houston rehabilitation facility learning to nod and smile, and eventually rising to the challenge that would be a milestone of her recovery: talking again.

Still, slowly and with tremendous effort, Giffords began to speak again. For Kelly, that was enough motivation to push harder, to try and help his wife walk again.

"Gabrielle Giffords is too tough to let this beat her," Kelly said.

It was that constant motivation and support by Kelly and Giffords' family that helped her recover, Kelly tells Sawyer.

It is Giffords' mother, Gloria Giffords, a constant presence by her side, who perfectly describes her daughter's spirit over the past year.

"I think Gabby's got a message now that exceeds the political one. ... Gabby is a warrior."