TUCSON (KGUN9-TV) – The office of U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords helped to secure swift transport of a Tucson woman out of Egypt as a wave of pro-democracy demonstrations swept across Cairo.

Twenty-four-year-old Andrea Richardson was at her first day at work at Cairo’s famed Egyptian Museum when the protests broke out. According to Giffords’ spokesperson, C.J. Karamargin, Richardson is now safe in Istanbul. Her parents planned to visit Giffords’ office Wednesday to personally thank the constituent services representative who helped their daughter get out of the country.

“It was a crisis situation halfway around the world,” said Andrea’s mother, Alice Richardson of Tucson. “I was stunned by the impact Congresswoman Giffords’ office was able to have. It was outstanding, timely and compassionate. We felt scooped up by warm hands.”

Because of safety concerns, Andrea fled her apartment for a Cairo hotel, where there was limited food and water. She asked the U.S. embassy for assistance in leaving the country, but with more than 50,000 Americans living in Egypt and about 2,600 seeking evacuation, the wait for a flight was substantial. That concerned Richardson’s parents because their daughter was in a bus accident three years ago and now has metal plates and pins in her legs, making long walks and waits very difficult.

Giffords’ staff immediately contacted the U.S. Department of State’s Egypt Task Force and followed that up with a written request for assistance. Just before midnight Monday, the State Department informed Giffords’ office that Richardson would be put on an early chartered flight to Istanbul, where she arrived Tuesday.

Giffords’ office handles about 2,700 constituent requests per year – almost four times the average handled by the nation’s 435 members of the House of Representatives. There now are about 900 requests being actively worked on by Giffords’ staff.

Since Giffords took office in January 2007, her office has opened nearly 10,000 cases. The greatest number of concerns comes from veterans and active-duty military, seniors and constituents struggling to make ends meet. There also are numerous requests for assistance with passports, visas and foreign travel problems.