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Giffords' Husband Will Decide Soon If He'll Command Shuttle Flight

May 28, 2008, file photo: Space shuttle Discovery commander Mark Kelly, right, gestures as he walks with his twin brother astronaut Scott Kelly, left, and mission specialist Ron Garan, after arrival at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla.
Terry Renna
/
AP
May 28, 2008, file photo: Space shuttle Discovery commander Mark Kelly, right, gestures as he walks with his twin brother astronaut Scott Kelly, left, and mission specialist Ron Garan, after arrival at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla.

"Astronaut Mark Kelly, the husband of U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, said Monday [that he will] decide within the next two weeks whether to leave his wife's bedside and command NASA's final launch of space shuttle Endeavour in April," the Houston Chroniclereports.

And the Chronicle adds that:

"Kelly was hopeful that his wife could move to TIRR Memorial Hermann and start a full-fledged rehab program as early as Wednesday. She is currently at Memorial Hermmann's Texas Medical Center neuro-intensive care unit a few blocks away.

" 'It's possible that it could be Wednesday, Thursday or Friday,' Kelly said. 'We're not that sure. ... She has a team of doctors that are discussing the overall situation'."

Kelly also told the newspaper that Giffords "was better yesterday than the day before. ... I don't know when she's going to be doing laps around the building, but it's coming."

Giffords (D-AZ), was critically injured on Jan. 8 when a gunman attacked an event she was holding at a Tucson strip mall. Six people were killed and 13, including Giffords, were shot.

Yesterday, 22-year-old suspect Jared Loughner of Tucson pleaded not guilty to the federal charges he faces.

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Mark Memmott is NPR's supervising senior editor for Standards & Practices. In that role, he's a resource for NPR's journalists – helping them raise the right questions as they do their work and uphold the organization's standards.