Daniel Hernandez, the intern who went to the aid of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords after she was shot, said Friday that he has talked to the congresswoman several times on the phone and is amazed by her recovery.

Hernandez said the phone calls — the most recent was Wednesday — have included “short interactions and long interactions.”

He declined to say specifically what Giffords has said “out of respect for her privacy.”

But, he said, “pretty soon you will be able to ask her yourself because she’s just doing extremely well and recovering very quickly.”

Giffords was critically wounded 12 weeks ago Saturday, when a gunman opened fire at a constituent event north of Tucson. Six people died and 12 other people were wounded in the Jan. 8 massacre.

Hernandez, who was in the fifth day of his internship the morning of the shooting, rushed to Gifford almost as soon as she fell. He cradled her head in his lap, covered the wound in her head with his hand and comforted her in the ambulance on the way to the hospital.

He said he most recently talked to Giffords and her mother, Gloria Giffords, by phone Wednesday while at work in the congresswoman’s Tucson office.

“Gloria passed the phone over to Gabby,” Hernandez said.

“It’s great hearing her voice,” the 21-year-old said.

(Source: USA Today)