It’s not often that a news story on the Web swings me close to the point of tears. This one did.

[In her hospital room, U.S. Sen. Kirsten] Gillibrand mentioned having another night out with [Rep. Gabby] Giffords and her husband for beer and pizza. And [Rep. Debbie] Wasserman Schultz recounted telling her, “Come on, you’ve got to get better, because we expect you up in New Hampshire this summer” at Wasserman Schultz’s vacation home.

“And just as I said that, that’s when she suddenly was struggling to open … her eyes,” Wasserman Schultz said. “First just a little bit. And the doctors couldn’t believe it. They said, ‘This is such a good time.’ ”

Kelly saw her struggling, Gillibrand said, and he and the others began to encourage her, saying, “Open your eyes, Gabby. Open your eyes.”
And Giffords did — actually opening only one eye, as the other remains bandaged, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs told reporters.

“She took a moment to focus, you could see she was focusing,” Gillibrand said. “And then Mark [Kelly, Giffords’ husband] said … ‘Gabby, if you can see me, if you can see me, give us a thumbs-up … She didn’t only give a thumbs-up, she literally raised her entire hand. We were just — we couldn’t stop crying … It was just one of those moments that life brings you so rarely.”