It is for that reason that we have chosen to have her undergo rehabilitation at TIRR Memorial Hermann, which has a national reputation for treating serious penetrating brain injuries and is also in a community where I have family and a strong support network.” 
 
 Giffords’s mother told family and friends in a Tuesday e-mail that the congresswoman has expressed “higher levels of comprehension and complex actions,” including looking through photos on her husband’s iPhone, The New York Times reported. Mrs. Giffords also said in the message that her daughter would be released from the hospital in Tucson on Friday and flown to a rehabilitation center in Houston to begin aggressive physical and occupational therapy. “As a result, they considered facilities around the country, including rehabilitation hospitals in Washington, D.C., New York, Chicago and Houston.” 
 
 Mark Kelly, the congresswoman’s husband, said he and Giffords’ parents weighed many factors, including the Houston facility’s proximity to Tucson and its “outstanding reputation.” 
 
 For the past 21 years, TIRR Memorial Hermann has been recognized as one of the top-rated rehabilitation hospitals in the country by U.S. News & World Report, Giffords’ office said. She will be moved from the University Medical Center to Houston’s TIRR Memorial Hermann Rehabilitation hospital, which specializes in helping people recover from brain injuries. Text Size - 
 
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 “The congresswoman’s family wants to ensure she receives the best rehabilitative care possible for her type of serious penetrating brain injury,” said Dr. Michael Lemole, one of the congresswoman’s neurosurgeons at UMC.
– Gabrielle Giffords will be released from the hospital on Friday, heading instead to the Institute for Rehabilitation and Research at Memorial Hermann Hospital in Houston, Politico reports. The center specializes in brain injury recovery. Giffords’ mother sent out an excited email today, telling friends that Giffords was recovering so well that she’d been able to look at get-well cards, scroll through photos on her husband’s iPhone, and even try to unbutton his shirt and pull off his tie. “Everyday Gabby improves and shows higher levels of comprehension and complex actions,” Gloria Giffords wrote, according to the New York Times. “They are even now having her move limbs on command. So now comes the ‘true grit’ part… and won’t be a stroll in the park.” Doctors say Giffords is now trying to speak, and that her husband reported seeing her smile.