Bill Clinton to remain in hospital overnight for treatment of infection
Former President Bill Clinton will remain at the University of California Irvine Medical Center overnight Friday while he continues to receive treatment for a non-COVID-related infection, his spokesperson Angel Ureña tweeted Friday evening. The 75-year-old former president has been in the hospital since Tuesday.
"All health indicators are trending in the right direction, including his white blood count which has decreased significantly," Ureña wrote. "In order to receive further IV antibiotics, he will remain in the hospital overnight."
He said the former president "continues to be in excellent spirits, and is deeply grateful for the outstanding care he is receiving and the well wishes that people have sent from across America and around the world."
On Friday afternoon, President Joe Biden spoke with Mr. Clinton by phone to wish him a fast recovery and to express that he looks forward to seeing him again, the White House said.
Mr. Clinton was admitted to the hospital on Tuesday evening, Ureña said. According to a source familiar with Mr. Clinton's condition, the politician was first diagnosed with a urological infection that later turned into a broader infection. He did not go septic shock, despite some reports, the source said. He's "up and about, joking and charming the hospital staff," the source said.
At the medical center, the former president was monitored and given IV antibiotics and fluids, which his physicians said Thursday he was responding to well.
"The California-based medical team has been in constant communication with the President's New York-based medical team, including his cardiologist," Dr. Alpesh Amin and Dr. Lisa Bardack said in a joint statement. "We hope to have him go home soon."
Mr. Clinton was first elected to the presidency in 1992 at age 46, the third-youngest person in history to take office. At the time, his doctors said he was in "excellent health," but suffered from "allergies and a chronic voice problem, has a mild hearing loss and needs to lose weight."
In January 2001, shortly before leaving office, Mr. Clinton was treated for a cancerous lesion.
Upon leaving office, he suffered from elevated levels of cholesterol and blood pressure, according to The New York Times, although those problems are associated with aging.
Mr. Clinton has been active since leaving office, starting what later became known as the Clinton Foundation, which partnered with American Heart Association to form the Alliance for a Healthier Generation following his heart surgery in 2005.
According to AARP, Mr. Clinton stopped eating meat, fish and all dairy in 2010. "I just decided that I was the high-risk person, and I didn't want to fool with this anymore. And I wanted to live to be a grandfather," Mr. Clinton told AARP. "So I decided to pick the diet that I thought would maximize my chances of long-term survival."
Kristin Brown and Caroline Linton contributed to this report.