Reagan May Leave Hospital by End of Week, Aide Says

ROCHESTER, Minn. —  Former President Ronald Reagan read newspapers Monday as he continued his recovery from skull surgery and spoke by telephone with the chairman-designate of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, a spokesman said.

Doctors have not decided when to release the 78-year-old former President from St. Marys Hospital, where he underwent surgery Friday to remove fluid that had accumulated on the surface of his brain.

But “physicians managing President Reagan’s care are hopeful that, if the present rate of progress continues, (he) will be able to return to California at the end of the week,” Reagan spokesman Mark Weinberg said in a statement issued by the Mayo Clinic, which runs St. Marys.

“Shortly after noon, President Reagan spoke with Gen. Colin Powell, chairman-designate of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who telephoned over the weekend to extend his good wishes,” Weinberg said.

On Friday, surgeons drilled a hole in Reagan’s skull to remove a buildup of blood. Doctors said the problem stemmed from a July 4 incident in which Reagan was tossed from a bucking horse and hit his head.

Reagan’s neurosurgeon, Thoralf M. Sundt, told the New York Times on Sunday that a brain clot had been detected earlier but that it had healed on its own without surgery. Sundt said that the first clot was smaller and in a different area of Reagan’s brain than was operated on Friday. Because of the first clot, brain tests were included as part of a regular checkup at the Mayo Clinic.