Ford Back Home After Recovering From Stroke

PALM SPRINGS —  Former President Gerald R. Ford stepped off a private jet at Palm Springs Airport on Wednesday afternoon and got into a car for a brief drive to his Rancho Mirage home more than a week after suffering a stroke in Philadelphia.

Ford, arriving with his wife, Betty, and daughter, Susan, waved to a small crowd before leaving the airport by private car.

Doctors at the Philadelphia hospital where Ford was treated said the 87-year-old former president is in excellent health and his prognosis is good. He does, however, have a 5% to 10% increased risk of having another stroke, said Dr. Carole Thomas, a neurologist.

“He feels he is 95% back to normal and is looking forward to getting home and back to his life,” Thomas said.

Ford entered Hahnemann University Hospital on Aug. 2 after suffering a small stroke while attending the Republican National Convention in Philadelphia.

He smiled and waved as a crowd outside the hospital greeted him with applause as he left Wednesday morning.

“I want to thank everybody at the hospital. It’s a marvelous facility and a great staff and they did a super job,” Ford said. “And my wife and family are most grateful for the hospitality and friendship here in Philadelphia. We have good memories. Thank you very very much.”

Dr. Robert Schwartzman, the hospital’s chief of neurology, and an intensive care nurse joined him for the five-hour flight home.

Ford will have to cut back on his daily routine of swimming while he remains on a blood-thinning drug indefinitely and on antibiotics for a tongue infection he was also treated for, doctors said.

While attending the convention, the nation’s 38th president complained of facial pain and was diagnosed as having a sinus condition during his initial hospital visit. He refused doctors’ recommendation that he take a CT scan and was sent home with antibiotics.

Hours later, he returned and was admitted with slurred speech and difficulties with balance. Tests confirmed a small stroke at the base of the brain, doctors said.