The smiles that show she's going to be OK: Hillary Clinton discharged from hospital with beaming Bill and Chelsea after blood clot brain scare

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has been discharged from New York-Presbyterian Hospital on Wednesday holding tightly to the hand of her smiling daughter Chelsea and flanked by her beaming husband Bill, three days after she was admitted for a blood clot in her head.
Wearing dark sunglasses and a warm coat to brave the New York winter chill, she walked down the steps of the hospital into a waiting van - creating a media frenzy since the 65-year-old has not been seen publicly since December 7.
Secretary Clinton has been hospitalized since Sunday when her doctors discovered a blood clot in her head, in a vein behind her right ear that helps carry blood away from the brain. She is being treated with blood thinners to help dissolve the clot and doctors say she will make a full recovery.

All smiles: Bill and Chelsea Clinton both grin as they escort Hillary, 65, from the hospital, wearing dark sunglasses and a warm coat to brave the New York winter chill

Family: Hillary Clinton holds her daughter's hand as she emerges from the hospital on Wednesday after three days

On the mend: Hillary Clinton (left) leaves New York Presbyterian Hospital with husband, Bill (top right), and daughter, Chelsea (center) in New York. Her doctors expect she will make a full recovery

Support: Holding tightly to her daughter's hand, the secretary of state exited the hospital on Wednesday afternoon. Her spokesman confirmed she was discharged this evening

There was initially confusion when Clinton first appeared on Wednesday afternoon because it was unclear whether she was being discharged from the hospital or if she had only been transported to a nearby medical facility for tests.
Surrounded by her upbeat family, a team of security guardsand one doctor, she exited the hospital and was driven across the street to another facility but then returned to the hospital about a half hour later.

 

But by early evening, her spokesman confirmed that she had indeed been released from the hospital on West 168th Street in Manhattan.
'Secretary Clinton was discharged from the hospital this evening. Her medical team advised her that she is making good progress on all fronts, and they are confident she will make a full recovery,' Secretary Clinton's spokesman Philippe Reines said in a statement.

Finally leaving: Hillary Clinton was alone in the car with her security team when she finally left New York-Presbyterian Hospital after being formally discharged on Wednesday

Rest: The Secretary of State is expected to make a full recovery and will rest at home while doing so

'She's eager to get back to the office, and we will keep you updated on her schedule as it becomes clearer in the coming days.
'Both she and her family would like to express their appreciation for the excellent care she received from the doctors, nurses and staff at New York Presbyterian Hospital Columbia University Medical Center.'
Her daughter Chelsea Clinton confirmed that the Secretary is heading home, presumably to recover in the family's house in the upscale New York suburb of Chappaqua. The Clintons bought the home, located only a 40-minute drive outside of Manhattan, in 1999 and have used it as their primary residence for much of the last decade.

Recovering: Hillary Clinton was driven to a medical facility across the street from the hospital on Wednesday for tests and then officially dischargec

Back to work: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton grins widely as she is driven away from New York-Presbyterian Hospital. She is already actively engaging with her staff, a spokesperson said

She was admitted to the hospital on Sunday after an MRI revealed the clot. According to BuzzFeed, a hospital source has revealed that she received treatment in a VIP wing on the hospital's ninth floor.
A State Department spokesman said earlier on Wednesday that Clinton was getting back to work on paperwork and was engaging with her staff in Washington, who have been charged with handling U.S. foreign policy in her absence. 
'She's been quite active on the phone with all of us,' State Department spokesman Victoria Nuland told the Associated Press.

A-okay: Former President Bill Clinton grins as he leaves New York-Presbyterian Hospital on Wednesday just hours before his wife Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton was formally discharged

Home to rest: The Clintons purchased this home in the New York suburb of Chappaqua in 1999 for $1.7million

She has already started to resume regular phone contact with her foreign counterparts.
Her short public appearance on Wednesday seemed to signal that she was ready to get back to work following an unspecified recovery period, though some detractors suggested her health condition could keep her out of the running for a rumored presidential bid in 2016.
Others scoffed that perhaps the outgoing Secretary of State was using her health to avoid facing a Congressional inquiry on State Department security failures in the September 11 attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi.

Her doctors announced that she was being treated for the condition on Monday, causing alarm over the secretary's health following a concussion she suffered from a fall on December 9. 
In the Monday statement, Dr. Lisa Bardack, of the Mt. Kisco Medical Group, and Dr. Gigi El-Bayoumi, from George Washington University, said the clot 'did not result in a stroke, or neurological damage.'
Despite the assurances, people became alarmed when a photo emerged of the former first daughter, 32, full of anxiety as she visited her mother at the hospital on Monday.

Early on: Chelsea Clinton looked distressed on Monday while visiting her mother (pictured) but by Wednesday the 32-year-old appeared more upbeat as she supported her mother

Chelsea, who is married to investment banker Marc Mezvinsky and lives in the Madison Square Park neighborhood of Manhattan, is extremely close to her mother.
In a Vogue profile of Chelsea, who entered the limelight in 1993 when her father became president, a friend of the Clinton's only child said the loss of her mother's mother last year came as a devastating blow.
Her childhood friend, Nicole Fox, said in August 2012 that Dorothy Rodham's death 'was the hardest thing I’ve ever seen Chelsea go through. She was really destroyed by it.'
But after the pained expression on Monday, Chelsea Clinton displayed more optimism in a New Year's Day message.
'Wishing all a healthy & happy 2013,' Chelsea Clinton tweeted on Tuesday. 'Grateful to be starting the new year with my family.'