MICHELE NORRIS, Host:
NPR's Richard Gonzales has that story.
RICHARD GONZALES: Pam Simon walked into a sea of happy faces and open arms.
PAM SIMON: Hi, everybody.
CROWD: Hi, Pam.
GONZALES: She suffered gunshot wounds to her wrist and chest. Her message was simple.
SIMON: I happened to get hit by a bullet, but all of you, especially those of you that were there, you got wounded too.
GONZALES: Simon's arrival is the most visible sign that perhaps the staff of Gabrielle Giffords' can begin their own healing. Since Monday, they've hosted a stream of constituents, friends and volunteers offering condolences and long hugs. And then there's food, lots of food.
KARAMARGIN: Well, this is a fraction of the type of stuff that has been happening here. People have been coming by from all over the place.
GONZALES: C.J. Karamargin is Giffords' communications director. He says the staff was still reeling from the initial shock of the shooting when they decided that opening the office on Monday morning as usual would send an important message.
KARAMARGIN: And no act of depravity would be enough to close down this small little outpost of our government. The office is open, our government is open, our democracy is open and that hasn't changed.
GONZALES: Sara Hummel Rajca handles immigration and veterans affairs for Giffords. She's also the staff photographer, so she was at the congresswoman's side when the gunman started shooting. Rajca managed to find cover.
SARA HUMMEL RAJCA: Not that I'm trying to repress anything, but working through this, I mean, keeping the office open is what Gabrielle Giffords and what Gabe Zimmerman both would have done.
GONZALES: Rajca says the news that Congresswoman Giffords is recovering helps keep the staff strong. But she says the death of 30-year-old fellow staffer, Gabriel Zimmerman, still seems unreal.
HUMMEL RAJCA: Tomorrow, I want to walk in, you know, go sit down at my desk, say hi to Gabe as he drinks his Dr. Pepper as he comes in and, you know, chat about the weekend and, you know, have things be like they were last Friday. But it's not that way and time doesn't stop and we'll just keep going forward.
GONZALES: C.J. Karamargin's eyes well up as he talks about his friend.
KARAMARGIN: When I turned on the TV and heard that, I broke down. He said, Gabe Zimmerman died in the line of duty. Soldiers die in the line of duty. Firemen die in the line of duty, police officers. First responders die in the line of duty. When do social workers die in the line of duty? It's just, it's just tragic.
GONZALES: As for his own mourning, Karamargin says he hasn't really had time for it yet.
(SOUNDBITE OF CAR DRIVING)
GONZALES: Back outside the office, there's a memorial of countless candles and flowers and dozens and dozens of placards with poems and prayers. Carmen Mayer, a semi-retired accountant, reads one that brings a smile to her worried face.
CARMEN MAYER: And I like that - and love will hold us together, make us a shelter to weather the storm. That's what's going to happen. It's going to take a while. A long time.
GONZALES: Richard Gonzales, NPR News, Tucson.