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Nearly seven months after being shot in the head -- an injury that would have killed most people -- U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords returned to Congress in a dramatic and emotional appearance to vote on the debt ceiling compromise.

She walked onto the House floor to thunderous applause and left in a glow of bipartisan cheer, sparking an almost immediate discussion of a possible re-election bid.

But what is in Giffords' future wasn't immediately clear. Despite her astounding recovery, she still needed help to make sure she wouldn't fall, Dr. Sanjay Gupta noted on CNN's "American Morning." And she has much rehabilitation work ahead of her, he said.

Giffords' spokesman, C.J. Karamargin, said his boss has not decided whether she will seek re-election.

"Congresswoman Giffords is focused on her recovery," he said.

Giffords' close friend Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz told MSNBC's "Morning Joe" that preparations are nevertheless under way should Giffords decide to make such a decision.

"We're certainly getting her ready to make sure that she can run for re-election at the point that they're ready to decide on that," said Wasserman Shultz, D-Florida.

..... (mostly rehash of the incident)

That Giffords is still alive, much less able to return to Congress, is remarkable, Gupta said. About three-quarters of people with such wounds don't survive, he said.

It's clear that Giffords is suffering weakness to the right side of her body that would be expected from an injury to the left side of the brain, Gupta said.

She did not move her right arm and required assistance standing.

He said Giffords still has a lot of rehabilitation work to do. Most patients in her situation peak in their recovery after 12 to 18 months.

For now, Giffords probably has difficulty expressing herself -- a typical trait for people with traumatic brain injuries -- and may have difficulty recalling words.

That could be difficult for a politician in a re-election campaign, but were Giffords to run again, it would probably not be an ordinary campaign.

As her appearance in the House showed, she has built up an enormous amount of goodwill as the survivor of a shooting rampage.

"Pity the soul that runs against her," one supporter wrote Tuesday morning on Twitter. http://www.cnn.com/2011/POLITICS/08/02/giffords.next/index.html

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