Mark Kelly’s Dilemma: Does He Fly Into Space Or Stay By Wife’s Side?

Mark Kelly is scheduled to blast off in April as commander of Endeavour’s final voyage. But does he do that while leaving his recovering wife Gabrielle Giffords back home?

Kelly’s decision to take a risky rocket ride so early in her recovery may seem startling. But those who know the couple, as well as doctors and rehabilitation experts, say it’s a personal choice. And for this modern, high-powered couple, not an extreme one.

“I don’t think he can lose either way,” said Dr. Louann Brizendine, a psychiatrist at the University of California at San Francisco and author of “The Male Brain” and “The Female Brain.”

If he decides to go, she said, people will understand that it’s for a short period of time. “It’s a one-time opportunity perhaps for him. It’s what he’s trained to do, and also he would only leave if he knew she was in super-good care,” Brizendine said. “So I don’t think he’ll get terribly criticized if he goes.”

On the other hand, if he stays, “he would get a lot of praise and a lot of kudos, for staying by her bedside,” she said.

By: Alan

Alan Colmes is the publisher of Liberaland.