Following the shooting last January, my wife, Gabby, and I were embraced with a wave of support.
Acts of kindness came from everywhere. They came in the mail, on the phone. They sprouted up in spontaneous memorials at the University of Arizona Medical Center and in front of Gabby's congressional office.
Children from around the country sent letters and cards to Gabby. They were messages of hope and healing, a tool to help these young minds grapple with what happened on Jan. 8. They often came in big envelopes, from schools and classrooms in Tucson and across America - and around the world.
Those letters still are coming. Just recently we received messages from schoolchildren in Vietnam.
Sometimes, the children drew pictures and painted for Gabby. They wrote prayers and poems. Some messages expressed deep sadness for Gabby and the other victims. The messages, written in crayons or markers, often mentioned Christina-Taylor Green, the youngest victim.
Most of the children simply asked Gabby to get better. They shared their own stories of recovery.
With the help of a teacher, an 11-year-old Tucson boy sent a letter describing his own injury. He was shot in the head while playing outside when he was 8. Like Gabby, he had to relearn how to eat, walk and talk. He wrote, "I get stronger every day. âĻ I can do everything now."
A third-grade class from Sahuarita sent cards shaped like ice-cream sundaes. They wrote, "We eat ice cream when we are sad. We hope you feel better."
The letters kept coming, flooding her hospital room and congressional offices. Children sent paper cranes, colorful chains, prayer beads and other kinds of crafts.
A class in Tucson made a cactus garden out of plastic foam. They painted the cactuses bright green and stuck them in the ground outside her office. Amidst the candles and flowers, they were a little bit of the Sonoran Desert she loves.
Students at a school from Poughkeepsie, N.Y., made an American flag out of red and blue child-size handprints. It was a reminder that the entire country stood behind my wife.
There were so many cards. Each of them beautiful and powerful. Most were made from construction paper in a classroom.
Gabby always had worked very hard to give children what they needed: a good education, healthy families and a safe community. Their pure and sincere outpouring was especially touching. Each message was a wonderful act of kindness.
The pictures and the words made her happy. They reminded her of home and the things she worked hard to protect. They inspired her to work hard to get better.
These acts of kindness helped Gabby heal. And for that, she and I are very thankful.
We thank every child who sent a message from the heart. We thank every teacher who led students through this difficult time and showed them that a small act of kindness makes a big difference.
Capt. Mark Kelly, U.S. Navy (ret.), wrote this on behalf of himself and his wife, U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords.
