Gabrielle Giffords may wave Endeavour off

NASA astronaut Mark Kelly is optimistic that his wife Gabrielle Giffords will be at Kennedy Space Center on 19 April to see him blast off aboard space shuttle Endeavour. Arizona congresswoman Giffords was shot in the head in Tucson in January in an attack which claimed six lives. Kelly described his wife's condition as " …

[Michael H.F. Wilkinson]

Good news indeed

As I said before. I will raise my glass to her full recovery.

[Emilio Desalvo]

I'll join you...

Moreover, I plan to be there, even if I am starting to hope that the launch will be delayed at least a week...

[tuna 1]

Political Priorities Reign

While I condemn the lunatic and empathize with the victims, I am tired of the warm & fuzzy "no news" news stories. Let's face it, the last thing this woman needs is a roadtrip and the last thing NASA needs is a sideshow distraction. Let's talk about the real gains/deficits/treatments(stem cells, per chance?) if we are to continue on with her as the subject of news stories. I respect the astronaut and the politician(as much as a politician can be respected/trusted), but enough with the "positive spin" stories that gloss over the tragedy and the reality of the damage done. Cognitive disconnect benefits nobody but those who sell 'stories'.

[Ian Michael Gumby]

Huh?

First, Giffords is very rare in that she survived the head wound. Even rarer is that she's not a veggie.

Stem Cells? Hate to break it to you, but once you've hit a certain age as an infant, you don't grow any more brain cells. You lose it, its gone for good. No chance Stem cells will help with a brain injury.

Now I would have understood your post if you had questioned the IT angle. There really isn't one except that her hubby is an astronaut which is why she wants to go and wave bye-bye to him as he takes off.

Sure its a photo op and a chance to show her miracle recovery.

But don't be a hater.

K?

[tuna 1]

uh-huh

I 'injected'...stem cells?... into my comment because:

1)I wouldn't be surprised, she IS getting the best of the best of the best cutting edge treatment money or power can afford

2) I was reading today about the 1st human trials of SC treatments for spinal injuries, glaucoma and strokes started in the US recently(no age limitations mentioned).

and

3) I am ignorant of her treatment because not one Rep Gifford "news" story since she was transferred to Texas has included any FACTS of her condition or treatment beyond "surprising", "better than expected" and "on the road to" recovery. Oh, my bad, one mentioned her skull cap is scheduled to be reattached in May.

I concur her having motor function and cognitive thought is amazing and fascinating, that's why I am interested...I also know a tragic BD victim and a Huntington's sufferer, so I read a lot on brain treatments and hope for progress.

What I meant to convey was my aversion to(hate is a little strong) the infotainment news with warm, fuzzy rhetoric that serves no purpose other than PR and to sell ads. She needs a road-trip and photo-op at the launch pad like he needs to be distracted from being the captain of that spaceship. The stakes are too high, <b>IMO</b>, for both of them. It is brain surgery and rocket-science, after all.

[Ian Michael Gumby]

@tuna

"What I meant to convey was my aversion to(hate is a little strong) the infotainment news with warm, fuzzy rhetoric that serves no purpose other than PR and to sell ads. She needs a road-trip and photo-op at the launch pad like he needs to be distracted from being the captain of that spaceship. The stakes are too high, <b>IMO</b>, for both of them. It is brain surgery and rocket-science, after all"

Unfortunately we live in a world where the average IQ is 100 (disregarding the Flynn effect.)

So when you get in to advanced material, a large proportion of the population's eyes gloss over and all they understand is that Gifford is getting better.

The fact that she can travel and be there is in itself a remarkable feat.

While Gifford will get the best medical treatment possible, she will not get any 'special' sekret sauce treatments. That would be unethical. Hence the idea of just injecting someone with stem cells and hoping for the best is absurd.

To your point... its not just Gifford. Look at what's happening in Japan over the nuclear plants.

Lots of misinformation. While some of the information may be factually correct, its still used to present a perception of doom and gloom.

[Bryce Prewitt]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_common_misconceptions

The misconception that brain cells stop growing has long since been debunked.

Do try to keep up.

K?

[John Smith 19]

Good wishes for this event

Congratulations on Congresswomen Gifford's (hopefully) continuing improvement.

I hope the shuttle leaves on time and Ms Gifford is there to see it.

On a point of politics it is important that extremists are not *seen* to win.

[JeffyPooh]

Here's to NASA...

Go NASA!

Get well soon Congresslady!

[GBE]

Wave off a shuttle?

Yikes. That headline sounded rather alarming.

Here in the US "wave off" means something different. It means to abort or divert something (like an aircraft landing) -- often at the last second due to an emergency.

AFAIK, the phrase comes from the signal made using paddles by the the LSO on the deck of a carrier to tell the pilot to abort the landing attempt at all costs. See the diagram titled "wave off" at the top/center of this chart:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/19/LSO_signals_day_US_Navy_1945.jpg

So you can see how a headline of "wave Endeavour off" might get somebody's attention. Waving off an unpowered aircraft that has a glide ratio only slightly better than a brick pretty much means disaster.