CEDAR FALLS, Iowa — The low-quality home videos weren’t madefor prime time television. The picture was sometimes dark, sometimes shaky. And the star’svoice often was too soft for the camera microphone to even pickup. But when ABC aired its hour-long special featuring U.S. Rep.Gabrielle Giffords, more than 13 million viewers tuned in to watchthe home videos and see just how far Giffords had come in a veryshort 11 months. It was the first on-camera interview with theArizona representative since a gunman opened fire in a grocerystore parking lot, killing six and sending a bullet ripping throughthe left hemisphere of her brain. Featured prominently in those videos was Angie Glynn, a Waterloonative who played a key role in helping Giffords through the earlyrecovery process. Glynn, a Columbus High School and University ofNorthern Iowa graduate, was a speech pathologist at TIRR MemorialHermann in Houston, where Giffords received her care. Asked to work with Giffords, “my initial reaction was a littlebit nervous because I did know it would be a high-profile case,”Glynn said. “But when it gets down to being in the therapy roomwith the patient you treat them the same way you would any otherpatient.” Glynn, who now lives in Cedar Rapids, said she had no idea thevideo footage would later be used on national television. Glynn’sparents, Doug and Cathy Brace, were in Texas with their daughter,their son-in-law Jason and the couple’s new baby, Lucas, when theABC interview first aired. “We watched the special with her and it brought tears to oureyes. We were so proud. We couldn’t wait to tell our friends,” Dougsaid. Carlin Hageman, the head of communication sciences and disordersdepartment at UNI, was not surprised by Glynn’s success. “Our students are doing very well,” he said. “I was just atFlorida State University where two of our recent graduates earnedtheir doctorates.” Other graduates have had fellowships at Mayo Clinic — only oneis chosen each year — and another works at the Philadelphia VoiceCenter, the first center dedicated to the care of professionalvoice. But that is just the tip of the iceberg, Hageman said. “She is just one of our many success stories. The thing aboutAngie, just like all of our students, is they know the technicalthings,” Hageman said. “More impressively, when I watched the show,was the interaction she had with Rep. Giffords. I think we are verygood at teaching them the right things to do. We are even better atselecting those with the right personal qualities to do thosethings. The technical part anybody can learn if they are smartenough. At the level where you are injured that badly, you have toknow when to say things and when not to. She did very well and thiswasn’t even someone with 20 or 30 years’ experience.” For Angie at least, that special ability to work with all kindsof people is a trait she’s honed for year, Cathy Brace said. “When she went into speech therapy it was a perfect match forher,” she said. “We’ve always known she has a special way oftouching people and in turn people touch her. Watching her reactionas she watched it, it brought tears to her eyes, too. Her responsewas ‘Gabby looks so beautiful,’ because she had seen her come alongfrom the very beginning. She was touched to have been able to workwith her.”