(CNN) -- When Debbie Wasserman Schultz visited her friend Gabrielle Giffords in the hospital last week, she talked to her about the demonstrations in Egypt and the Republicans' proposed budget cuts -- not exactly topics you might expect during a hospital visit. 

But Wasserman Schultz says she remembers what she wanted to talk about when she was hospitalized with breast cancer a few years ago. 

"As much as (Giffords' husband, Mark Kelly) cares about her, he doesn't know all the fun stories about what's going on in Washington," she said. "There's only 435 of us in the House of Representatives, and I knew she'd want to be caught up on what's going on, so I told her stories about different colleagues and who said what." 

In the nearly six weeks since the Arizona Democrat was shot, Wasserman Schultz, a Florida Democrat, has made three trips to visit her friend: two to Tucson and one to Houston, where Giffords is in a rehabilitation hospital. She's planning another trip there in a few weeks. 

She fits the travel into her busy schedule because she remembers how important such visits were to her when she was recovering from her seven breast cancer surgeries, including a double mastectomy, breast reconstruction and removal of her ovaries. 

"Being hospitalized and sidelined in such a significant way can be so isolating, and Gabby is even more isolated from the world than I was. She's isolated in her own body while she's recovering," she said. 

Wasserman Schultz says that even though Giffords couldn't speak to her during a visit two weeks ago, she felt that Giffords understood what she told her and appreciated the visit. 
How many of them were there in the House of Representatives?
 435 of us in the House of Representatives