Posted on 08/21/2006 3:02:30 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
ROCHESTER, Minn. - Former President Ford received a cardiac pacemaker Monday at the Mayo Clinic, a top aide said.
Ford, 93, was resting comfortably after the operation, and his wife and children were with him, according to a statement issued Monday afternoon by Penny Circle, his chief of staff.
Ford was expected to continue to recuperate at the clinic for several days. The pacemaker is designed to enhance his heart's performance.
He was admitted Aug. 15 for tests and evaluation. At the time, neither the clinic nor his chief of staff would comment in detail on his condition.
Ford spent a few days in Colorado's Vail Valley Medical Center last month because of shortness of breath. In January, he was hospitalized for 12 days in Rancho Mirage, Calif., to treat pneumonia. Five years ago, Ford suffered two small strokes and spent about a week in a hospital.
Ford became the nation's oldest living former president after the death of Ronald Reagan in 2004.
Ford was House minority leader when President Nixon chose him to replace Spiro Agnew, who resigned, as vice president in 1973.
Ford became president on Aug. 9, 1974, when Nixon resigned amid the Watergate scandal.
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On the Net:
Mayo Clinic: http://www.mayoclinic.com/
Gerald Ford Presidential Library: http://www.ford.utexas.edu/
Former US president Gerald Ford seen here in April 2006 in Rancho Mirage, CA. The former president underwent a medical procedure to receive a cardiac pacemaker to boost his heart's performance, his aide said.(AFP/File/Mandel Ngan)
Former U.S. President Gerald R. Ford (L), daughter Susan (C) and his wife first lady Betty Ford (R) and their dog Liberty walk at the presidential retreat Camp David in Maryland in this August 7, 1976 file photo. Ford has been admitted August 15, 2006 to the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota for 'testing and evaluation', his office said in a statement. EDITORIAL USE ONLY BW ONLY REUTERS/Courtesy Gerald R. Ford Library/David Hume Kennerly/White House Photograph/Handout (UNITED STATES)
uhh, yeah.. lol
I didn't think much of him as a President, but he's 93! May God bless him.
I hope he outlives Chevy Chase.
"Hello, Mr ex-President, I'm Gerry!"
Did he do anything noteworthy while in office?
Pardoned Nixon. Told NY City to drop dead.
Well, he lost to Jimmy Carter.. which resulted in the Reagan Revolution which resulted in the Soviet Union going Kaput and USA winning the Cold War.
He was significant to world history history in an indirect manner.
Did he do anything noteworthy while in office?
Not really but after Watergate, that was fine with most everyone.
I was in Omaha last year and saw signs directing those interested to the Gerald R. Ford birthplace. I passed on that. Went across the river to check out the Lewis and Clark Trail and the Council Bluffs Rail Museum instead.
Sounds like congestive heart failure.
The more I see of government, the more I begin to recognize that Ford did ok in that he vetoed alot of bills!
Who was a King that became a President?
Just like the bent one, Gerald Ford was not born with the surname we know him by. Was it King?
President Ford was originally named Leslie Lynch King, Jr., after his biological father.
Oh he'll probably curse that thing to his dying day. My grandmother had only one regret in life; her pacemaker. Long after she couldn't taste, hear, smell, see, walk or eat, that dang heart was still pumping at 99.
Hmmm. Probably Gerald R. Ford was a good switch.
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