Clinton discharged from New York hospital

Washington – Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton left the New York hospital where she had been receiving treatment for a blood clot on Wednesday afternoon.

Clinton spokesman Philippe Reines says her doctors advised her that she has been making progress on all fronts and are confident she will make a full recovery.

He says Clinton is appreciative of the excellent care she received at New York-Presbyterian Hospital and is eager to get back to work. A date for her return to the State Department has not been set.

Her husband, former President Bill Clinton, daughter, Chelsea, and an unidentified aide were by her side, according to media reports.

Earlier Wednesday, Clinton had been speaking with staff and reviewing paperwork, the State Department said.

Doctors at that time were continuing to monitor Clinton's progress and her response to blood thinners intended to dissolve the clot.

"She's been quite active on the phone with all of us," said State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland.

Clinton was admitted Sunday to New York-Presbyterian Hospital for treatment of a clot stemming from a concussion she suffered earlier in December. While at home battling a stomach virus, Clinton had fainted, fallen and struck her head, a spokesman said. Clinton, 65, hasn't been seen publicly since Dec. 7.

Doctors found the clot, located in a vein that runs through the space between the brain and the skull behind the right ear, during a follow-up exam and began administering blood thinners. Her physicians said Monday that there was no neurological damage and that they expect she will make a full recovery.

Sidelined by her illness for most of December, Clinton was forced to cancel scheduled testimony before Congress about a scathing report into the Sept. 11 attack on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya, and was absent on Dec. 21 when President Barack Obama nominated Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., to succeed Clinton when she steps down at the start of Obama's second term, as had long been planned.

But Clinton had expected to return to work this week and had already started to resume regular phone contact with her foreign counterparts. On Saturday, the day before the clot was discovered, Clinton had a half-hour conversation with Lakhdar Brahimi, the U.N. envoy to Syria, in which the two discussed the state of affairs in that civil-war-torn country, Nuland said.

Also on Saturday, Clinton spoke by telephone with Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Hamad bin Jassim Al Thani, discussing recent developments in Syria, Afghanistan and the Palestinian territories.

The illness has raised questions about Clinton's political future and how her health might influence her decision about whether to run for president in 2016, as prominent Democrats have been urging her to consider. Clinton also suffered from a blood clot in 1998, midway through her husband's second term as president, although that clot was located in her knee.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.