(Reuters)
Hillary Rodham Clinton is back home and on the mend.
Doctors at Columbia-Presbyterian Hospital discharged the secretary of state last night after three days of treatment for a potentially life-threatening blood clot between her brain and skull.
Joined by ex-president husband Bill, the secretary of state was whisked away from the Washington Heights hospital campus in a van, accompanied by a small motorcade of Secret Service agents. The former first couple arrived in their Chappaqua home at 7 p.m.
“Grateful my Mom discharged from the hospital & is heading home. Even more grateful her medical team confident she’ll make a full recovery,” Chelsea tweeted.
Earlier in the day, Hillary, wearing sunglasses and a purple jacket, was spotted clutching Chelsea’s hand as she exited the main Milstein Hospital Building.
The former president, in a leather jacket, walked behind them grinning.
But rather than being discharged immediately, Clinton, 65, who is stepping down from her Cabinet post and who is considered a 2016 Democratic presidential contender, was driven to another part of the hospital complex, which encompasses several city blocks.
The State Department declined to discuss whether she left to receive additional tests. Bill and Chelsea accompanied her back to the main hospital building within an hour.
“Her medical team advised her that she is making good progress on all fronts, and they are confident she will make a full recovery,” said State Department spokesman Philippe Reines. “She’s eager to get back to the office.”
Clinton is planning to resign as the nation’s top diplomat pending the Senate’s approval of President Obama’s pick, Sen. John Kerry, to replace her.
Doctors had been treating Clinton with blood thinners to fight the clot, which formed behind her right ear.
Before yesterday, she hadn’t been seen in public since Dec. 7.
Last month, Clinton, who was dehydrated and fighting a stomach virus, fainted at home and struck her head causing a concussion. She missed the Dec. 21 congressional hearing on the deadly Benghazi consulate terrorist attack.
She was admitted to the Manhattan hospital on Sunday evening, but the State Department said she remained on the job.
“She’s been quite active on the phone with staff and taking paper, etc.,” spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said, referring to official memos.
Additional reporting by Laurel Babcock