A total of 420 votes were cast on the historic debt-limit bill in Washington, but one vote stood out from the pack.
That was, of course, the vote cast by Arizona Democrat Gabrielle Giffords. Her triumphant return to the House of Representatives on Monday was met with a roar of applause, hugs, and high fives from both Republicans and Democrats alike.
Giffords was shot in the head in a Tucson parking lot on January 8 while meeting with constituents. Six people were killed and 13 others, including Giffords, were wounded. The man charged in the shooting, Jared Lee Loughner, was sent to a federal prison facility in Springfield, Mo., after a federal judge concluded he was mentally incompetent to stand trial on 49 charges.
Giffords' surprise entrance just minutes before Monday's vote added even more drama to the high stakes day. She cast her vote for the bill, which passed 269-161.
Here's a look at Giffords' return to congress and her long road to recovery:
Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords (L) smiles next to her mother Gloria Giffords at TIRR Memorial Hermann Hospital in Houston, the day after the launch of Endeavour and the day before her cranioplasty, in this May 17, 2011 photo from her Facebook page June 12, 2011.REUTERSU.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) and her husband, space shuttle astronaut Mark Kelly, are seen in an undated photo provided by her Congressional campaign. Kelly announced June 21, 2011 that he will retire from the U.S. Navy and NASA on October 1, 2011.ReutersU.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords (R-TX) (C) waves to colleagues on the floor of the House of Representatives, moments after the House voted to raise the U.S. borrowing limit, in Washington in this still image taken from video August 1, 2011.ReutersU.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) (C) waves as she stands with colleagues on the floor of the House of Representatives, moments after the House voted to raise the U.S. borrowing limit, in Washington in this still image taken from video August 1, 2011. Giffords returned to the House floor on Monday for the first time since she was shot in the head in January, receiving a thunderous ovation from Democrats and Republicans alike. Giffords, a Democrat who has not been to Washington since the shooting at a political event in her home state of Arizona, returned to vote in favor of a bill to raise the U.S. debt ceiling and avoid default. REUTERSU.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords (R-TX) (C) is embraced by colleagues on the floor of the House of Representatives, moments after the House voted to raise the U.S. borrowing limit, in Washington in this still image taken from video August 1, 2011.Reuters
