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Giffords’ doctor: Goal is to see space launch
Photo
ASSOCIATED PRESS
In this photo taken Wednesday, Jan. 5, 2011, Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., takes part in a reenactment of her swearing-in, on Capitol Hill in Washington. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona was shot in the head Saturday, Jan. 8, 2011 when an assailant opened fire outside a grocery store during a meeting with constituents, killing at least five people and wounding several others in a rampage that rattled the nation.
Associated Press
PHOENIX
The doctor for Rep. Gabrielle Giffords said Tuesday that he hopes the wounded congresswoman can make enough progress to attend her husband’s space launch in two months, describing it as “a goal for us to work towards” as many in Arizona paused to mark one month since she was shot at a political event.
The space shuttle Endeavor will leave April 19 for a two-week mission to the International Space Station, and astronaut Mark Kelly announced last week that he’ll be aboard and expects his wife, who was shot in the forehead, to see him off.
But Dr. Gerard Francisco said doctors would have to decide on a variety of medical issues for that to happen, including whether Giffords can fly to Cape Canaveral, Fla., how much assistance she would need and how much noise she can tolerate.
“It’s too early to say. It’s only early February,” said Francisco, the head of Giffords’ rehabilitation team at TIRR Memorial Hermann hospital in Houston. He said Giffords is doing “very well” but wouldn’t provide details.
In a Facebook post Tuesday, Kelly wrote it’s hard to believe only one month has passed.
“The doctors say she is recovering at lightning speed considering her injury, but they aren’t kidding when they say this is a marathon process,” he said. “There are encouraging signs every day, though.”
He said he wants the families of the other victims and the entire Tucson community to know that his wife “will soon stand by your side to mourn this tragedy and learn how we can heal.”
By appearances, Tucson largely has returned to normal since six people were killed Jan. 8 outside a supermarket. Massive makeshift memorials to the victims have been dismantled and boxed in locked storage for a future permanent memorial.
But the 13 survivors are struggling with their injuries and the emotional scars left behind.
In Phoenix, the family of a Giffords aide killed in the attack joined lawmakers to call for a new state law to ban large-capacity magazines such as the one used in the rampage.
Gabe Zimmerman’s fianc e, Kelly O’Brien, said she supports the right to own a gun but that Jared Loughner, the 22-year-old Tucson man charged in the shooting, clearly intended to kill many more people.