If you haven’t seen the documentary detailing former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords’ recovery from an assassination attempt in Tucson in 2011, you have two chances this week.
“Gabby Giffords Won’t Back Down” will air on CNN’s online platform at 5 p.m. Tucson time on Thursday, Nov. 17, and will be broadcast on CNN at 7 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 20.
The Thursday showing will be followed by a discussion featuring Dr. Fabi Hirsch Kruse, CEO of Tucson-based Friends of Aphasia, and Dr. Tara Narula, CNN medical correspondent.
Preregistration is required to watch the film and the discussion online. To register go to https://ggwbdvirtualscreening.splashthat.com
Giffords and speech-language pathologist Hirsch Kruse co-founded the nonprofit Friends of Aphasia in 2018. The two have worked together since shortly after Giffords was shot in the head on Jan. 8, 2011 at a “Congress on Your Corner” event outside a northwest Tucson grocery store. Giffords was one of 19 people shot that day, six of whom died. Giffords, who lives in Tucson, left Congress in 2012.
Giffords’ difficult recovery and Hirsch Kruse’s important role in it take the spotlight in “Gabby Giffords Won’t Back Down,” as Giffords goes from being able to say only “what” and “chicken” to delivering a speech at the 2020 Democratic National Convention. Her brain injury caused a communication disorder called aphasia, which can make it difficult to use words to communicate. While aphasia does not affect intelligence, it can severely impact the ability to speak, understand language, read and write.
Giffords and Hirsch Kruse continue to work together on Giffords’ recovery. They co-founded Friends of Aphasia to advocate for and serve the more than two million people in the United States with aphasia, a condition that is still largely unknown.
The film is directed by Julie Cohen and Betsy West, whose credits include the documentaries “RBG” and “Julia”, and produced by CNN Films and Time Studios.
It includes video shot by Giffords’ husband, now-Sen. Mark Kelly, as she worked to recover and regain her ability to speak.
To learn more about Friends of Aphasia, visit their website or email info@friendsofaphasia.com
The January 8 Memorial, "The Embrace", will open on the anniversary of the mass shooting in 2011 to commemorate the 19 victims. The memorial is on the west side of the Old Pima County Courthouse in El Presidio Park. Video by Kelly Presnell / Arizona Daily Star 2020
