Kelly: Gabby Will Likely Be at My Shuttle Launch

Shuttle commander says wife's condition improving every day
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 25, 2011 6:09 AM CDT
Mark Kelly: Gabrielle Giffords Likely to Make Shuttle Launch
NASA astronaut and space shuttle Endeavour Commander Mark Kelly speaks during a crew news conference Thursday, March 24, 2011, in Houston.    (AP Photo/Pat Sullivan)

Ten weeks after she was shot in the head in Tucson, Rep. Gabrielle Giffords is continuing to make a remarkable recovery, and she will likely be there when Endeavour blasts off on its final mission next month, husband Mark Kelly says. Kelly visits his wife at a rehab hospital in Houston every morning before training with NASA and he returns every evening, ABC News reports. He says Giffords is receiving daily briefings from her congressional staff and is beginning to come to terms with the shootings.

Kelly—speaking at a NASA press conference with the rest of the shuttle crew, all wearing a blue bracelet in honor of Giffords—said his wife plans to be at the Kennedy Space Center launch pending final approval from doctors. He said being a veteran of three space missions has helped him juggle the demands of caring for his wife while training with NASA. "Having that experience certainly makes it very manageable to be able to handle what's going on in my personal life and handle this mission," he said. "I've given this mission everything I would have if the events of January had not happened." (More Mark Kelly stories.)

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