It’s been just over one week since Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was shot in the head outside of a grocery store during a political rally in Tuscon, Arizona.

Giffords’ husband of three years, US Navy captain and astronaut, Mark E Kelly, has kept a vigil by his wife’s bedside at the Tuscon University Medical Center ever since, barely leaving her for one minute.

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In an exclusive interview with ABC’s Diane Sawyer that airs tonight, Kelly opens up about his wife’s recovery, his optimism for her future and how, even though she is battling for her own life she still manages to look out for other people.

Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords’ doctors have backed up her husband’s claims regarding her ‘miraculous’ recovery, revealing that her physical rehabilitation treatment has already begun and amazingly, disclosing that she could be leaving the hospital in ‘days’.

In a press conference which airs during an ABC 20/20 special tonight, Dr G Michael Lemole Jr, Chief of Neurosurgery at Tuscon University Medical Center spoke about Giffords’ husband, Mark E Kelly’s claim that his wife recognizes him and has proved it by playing with his wedding ring – something she used to do before her injury.

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“It does imply that she is recognizing him,” he said. “And that she’s interacting in an old familiar way with him.”