US congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, who was shot in the head in January, has been declared fit enough to attend her husband’s space shuttle launch.
Nasa astronaut Mark Kelly said his wife’s reaction to the doctors’ decision had been to pump her fist and say: “Awesome!”
Giffords narrowly survived the shooting spree by a gunman in Tucson, Arizona, that killed six people.
Kelly is commander of the Endeavour, due to lift off on Friday.
It will be one of the last space shuttle missions and the launch will be attended by President Barack Obama and other VIPs.
“I have met with her neurosurgeon and her doctors, and… they have given us permission to take her down to the launch,” Kelly said. “I’m excited about that,” he added.
Giffords suffered a bullet wound to her brain’s left hemisphere, which controls speech and movement for the right side of the body. (BBC)
