Aide: Gabrielle Giffords continues improvement

TUCSON, Aug. 30 (UPI) -- An aide to Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., says he is certain his boss is on the road to a full recovery from her near-fatal gunshot wound.

Ron Barber, Giffords' district director, told a Tucson audience that Giffords has her full mental faculties and is working toward a goal of returning home.

"She's on a path to full recovery -- I am certain about that," Barber said. "Her cognitive abilities are 100 percent."

The Arizona Daily Star reported Tuesday Giffords has not yet decided her political future; however, Barbers assured the Democrats of Greater Tucson Monday she was keeping up on current events and congressional issues, and was improving her speaking abilities by the day.

"For those of you who know about rehabilitation, if your cognition is intact, the rehab becomes much more feasible for success, and that is certainly the case in speech therapy," Barber said.

Giffords was shot in the head during an appearance in Tucson in January. She was among 13 people wounded in the shooting spree, which also left six dead.