Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton will need surgery

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton will need surgery to repair a broken elbow.


WASHINGTON - Secretary of State Clinton was recuperating at home Thursday, figuring out how to send text messages and emails as she nurses a broken right elbow that will require surgery to mend, her spokesman said. "She is at home resting comfortably -- or uncomfortably," said State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley. "She is working from home. She has already taken some calls, and I'm sure learning … how well you can text with one arm in a sling." Husband Bill Clinton and daugther Chelsea came to Washington Wednesday night to be with her.Clinton fell Wednesday at about 5 p.m. in the basement of the State Department while heading for her car and a White House meeting along with Special Ambassador for Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke. In pain, Clinton aborted the meeting and returned to her office, where she was examined and aides a short time later decided to take her to nearby George Washington University Hospital, Crowley said.President Obama telephoned Clinton late Wednesday night to check on her, the White House said.Clinton will undergo surgery in a few days is expected to return quickly to work. "I don't think it was a severe break, you know, which is why I think, you know, she will have the surgery in the coming days," Crowley said. "But how it affects her -- I mean, you all know Hillary Clinton. She's already probably plotting how to get back to the office as quickly as possible. And we're just going to assess this on a day-to-day basis." But Clinton's public appearances for Thursday were cancelled, and Crowley said it was too early to tell if there would be any effect on planned trips in the coming weeks to Italy and Greece.