LDS Scene

President Kimball, President Benson Continue to Recuperate. President Spencer W. Kimball has been released from the hospital after more than six weeks and is continuing his gradual recovery after undergoing surgery in early September to remove blood and scar tissue from under the skull. He and Sister Kimball have taken a suite at the Hotel Utah, where he will continue to receive nursing care.

Several unexpected complications had weakened the eighty-six-year-old president and slowed his progress, but his determination to “get back to work” has been unflagging. It is not yet known when he will be able to return to his customary schedule in the Church Administration Building.

Interviewed briefly before his release from the hospital, the president and Sister Kimball expressed deep appreciation for the many get-well cards and messages they have received from around the world during his hospitalization. They also expressed gratitude for the faith and prayers exercised in their behalf.

President Ezra Taft Benson, who for many months had walked with a painful limp, underwent surgery on October 12 to relieve pain and restore function to his hip, which was severely damaged in July 1978 when a horse knocked him to the ground.

President Benson, 82, underwent a total joint arthroplasty, which provided him with a plastic hip socket and metal ball hip joint. The operation was successful, and President Benson, who was released from the hospital on October 24, was in good spirits and looking forward to increased mobility. He was expected to undergo six to eight weeks of physical therapy, which will allow him to progressively increase his activity and walking ability.