Giffords may attend husband's liftoff

HOUSTON, March 9 (UPI) -- Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., may have recovered enough by April to attend her husband's space shuttle launch in Florida, her doctors say.

Mark Kelly is commanding the Endeavor mission scheduled to lift off April 19.

Dr. Peter Rhee, chief of trauma at the University Medical Center in Tucson, Ariz., who help saved the congresswoman's life after she was shot Jan. 8, told CBS News there is "no reason" she should not be able to witness it.

Dr. Gerard Francisco, who is in charge of Giffords' rehabilitation at TIRR Memorial Hermann hospital in Houston, could not say whether she would attend, but did not rule it out.

"Perhaps in the next few weeks we'll be able to determine whether or not it will be safe for her to go to this launch," he said. "It's an outstanding goal that the family has for her. When our patients are in our rehab hospital, we identify goals with them. And together as a team, we work together in achieving those goals."

Giffords is still missing part of her skull and wears a helmet.