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Giffords office plans for shuttle
By: Meredith Shiner
April 8, 2011 01:38 PM EDT
The office of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) released details of her potential appearance at the launch of the the space shuttle, Endeavor, which her husband Capt. Mark Kelly is expected to command.
The launch is scheduled for April 29.
In a statement Friday, the recovering congresswoman’s office indicated staff is “making plans” for Giffords to attend, pending medical approval from the staff at TIRR Memorial Hermann Hospital, where she has been since the end of January when she suffered a gunshot wound to the head during a mass-shooting in Tucson.
“Our office is making plans for her to attend, pending medical approval,” the statement read. “Doctors overseeing the congresswoman’s recovery at TIRR Memorial Hermann Hospital in Houston will have the final word on whether Giffords will be able to attend the launch at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.”
Giffords’ office said the dates of her travel have not yet been determined and that she would not meet with the media or issue a statement from Florida if doctors clear her to attend the launch.
Instead, members of her staff plan to hold a press conference “to discuss the event and her reaction to her husband’s latest mission.”
Giffords’ chief of staff Pia Carusone and Communications director C.J. Karamargin, Giffords’ communications director are expected to speak on her behalf.
Attending the launch has long been the stated goal for Giffords, whose recovery so far has been cited by doctors as “miraculous.”