Bill Clinton ‘touched by the outpouring of support’ after release from UC Irvine hospital

Former President Bill Clinton and former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton leave the University of California Irvine Medical Center in Orange, Calif., Sunday, Oct. 17, 2021. He was released after being treated for an infection and will head home to New York to continue his recovery, a spokesman said. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

by: Associated Press

Posted: Oct 21, 2021 / 04:28 AM PDT

Updated: Oct 21, 2021 / 04:28 AM PDT

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Former President Bill Clinton released a video saying he is on the road to recovery after being hospitalized in Southern California for six days to treat an infection unrelated to COVID-19.

The 75-year-old Clinton, who arrived Sunday at his home in New York, said in the Wednesday video that he was glad to be back home and that he was “so touched by the outpouring of support” he received while hospitalized last week.

I'm glad to be home! pic.twitter.com/ZoYuy54Q6R
— Bill Clinton (@BillClinton) October 20, 2021

An aide to Clinton said the former president had a urological infection that spread to his bloodstream but was on the mend and never went into septic shock, a potentially life-threatening condition.

Clinton also thanked the doctors and nurses at the University of California Irvine Medical Center in Orange, California.

In the years since Clinton left the White House in 2001, he has faced health scares. In 2004, he underwent quadruple bypass surgery after experiencing prolonged chest pains and shortness of breath. He returned to the hospital for surgery for a partially collapsed lung in 2005, and in 2010 he had a pair of stents implanted in a coronary artery.

He responded by embracing a largely vegan diet that saw him lose weight and report improved health.