Oct 15, 2008 4:00 pm US/Eastern
Nancy Reagan Hospitalized With Broken Pelvis
LOS ANGELES (AP) ―
Nancy Reagan
suffered a broken pelvis in a fall at her home and will be hospitalized
for several days, her spokeswoman said Wednesday. The 87-year-old
former first lady fell last week, spokeswoman Joanne Drake said. She
did not seek immediate medical care but decided Monday to get checked
out because of persistent pain, Drake said.
Doctors at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center determined she had a fractured pelvis and sacrum, the triangular bone at the base of the spinal column.
"She's in some pain but in very good spirits," Drake said.
Mrs.
Reagan was undergoing physical therapy but surgery won't be required,
Drake said. She will be hospitalized "for a few days — until doctors
are satisfied with her progress — and then return home," Drake said in
a statement.
Recovery is expected within six to eight weeks, she said.
Mrs. Reagan apparently got up in middle of the night and fell after twisting on her leg at her home in Bel-Air.
She
was hospitalized three days in February after a similar fall at the
hillside home she shared with President Reagan after their White House
years. It was initially feared Mrs. Reagan broke her hip in that fall,
but tests determined there was no fracture.
Reagan, 87, is quoted in her biography on the White House Web site as saying, "My life really began when I married my husband." The former first lady in the 1950s happily gave up an acting career for a permanent role as the wife of Ronald Reagan and mother to their children.
Former President Ronald Reagan passed away on June 5, 2004, after a 10-year battle with Alzheimer's disease.
(© 2008 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
