Prepping For Helsinki (3/17/97)

Clinton Released From Hospital Early (3/16/97)

Post-Op President(3/14/97)

The Quadriceps Tendon, courtesy of University of Pennsylvania

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The Road To Recovery

Injured knee means lifestyle changes for the first-patient

WASHINGTON (AllPolitics, March 17) -- Back on the job for his first full day since knee surgery last Friday, President Bill Clinton now faces the challenge of leading the nation while slowed by a lame leg, and a long rehabilitation.

Abandoning the black sweat suit he wore while being transported to and from the Bethesda Naval Hospital, the president showed up ready for work in a blue business suit -- accessorized by a wheelchair and right-leg brace.

White House Press Secretary Mike McCurry told reporters Monday that on the whole the president had a "vigorous and active" morning.

Clinton is practicing walking with crutches but has been confined for the most part to his wheelchair. His movements have also been restricted primarily to the upper residence of the White House where furniture has been moved and carpets taped down.

"He's not doing wheelies yet," McCurry joked.

Full rehabilitation is expected to take at least six months, with the first eight weeks spent on crutches. Physical therapy aides, who the president jokingly refers to as "the torture team," have already started the First Patient on a vigorous recovery schedule.

The pain around Clinton's knee has "subsided," McCurry said, adding that Clinton did wake up this morning feeling some "stiffness and soreness" from initial therapy sessions.

In addition to the non-narcotic pain-killer the president is taking, Clinton has been prescribed an additional drug, Heparin, designed to avoid blood clots.

An altered exercise regime is not the only personal lifestyle change the president will be forced to make. Clinton's doctors are also adjusting his diet in an attempt to avoid the typical weight gain a previously active person experiences following a disabling injury.

Dr. Connie Mariano, the president's personal physician, explained to reporters, "You take a healthy runner who runs routinely and you break their legs, they gain, what, 27 pounds in one year. And we do not want that to happen, and he does not want that to happen. So we're really going to look closely at what he eats."

This change may be the hardest for Clinton, whose enjoyment of food is notorious. "I will be the enforcer in the White House," Mariano joked.

Preparing for this week's Helsinki summit with Russian President Boris Yeltsin is still at the top of Clinton's agenda. He met today with Russian Foreign Minister Yevgeny Primikov in his private study in the White House residence.

Clinton is planning a much-reduced public schedule during the initial recovery period, during which Vice President Al Gore will fill in wherever possible.

Today Gore stepped in for his boss to announce the formation of a committee to educate the public on campaign finance reform and at a ceremonial St. Patrick's Day meeting with Irish Prime Minister John Bruton.

CNN's Wolf Blitzer contributed to this report.