Ford's condition upgraded to good

PHILADELPHIA (CNN) -- Doctors said Sunday they had upgraded former President Ford's condition from fair to good and that most of the swelling and pain in his tongue had subsided.

But they said they did not know when he would be able to go home.

Ford, 87, whose swollen tongue was operated on Saturday, and who recently suffered a minor stroke, is in excellent spirits at Hahnemann University Hospital in Philadelphia and has been eating and walking, the hospital said Sunday in a statement.

Ford entered the hospital Tuesday night complaining of sinus pain immediately after the GOP National Convention, where he had been honored.

The former president was treated and released. But he returned Wednesday morning, accompanied by his wife Betty, for further treatment.

It was then that doctors discovered he had suffered at least one minor stroke, perhaps two. But his swollen tongue, apparently unrelated to the stroke, caused them more concern.

Surgeons lanced and drained the tongue in a 25-minute procedure Saturday, causing it to shrink to near-normal size and easing the pain he had experienced for several days.

The swelling was caused by an abscess, said Dr. Richard Hayden, chairman of the department of otolaryngology at the hospital, who performed the surgery.

Ford will undergo a six-week course of antibiotic treatment, which can be administered at home, Hayden said.

Dr. Robert J. Schwartzman, head of the hospital's department of neurology, said Saturday the president was "probably neurologically completely recovered from his small stroke."

The president is being given anti-clotting medication to reduce the odds of a recurrence of stroke.

Ford, the nation's 38th president, succeeded and then pardoned President Nixon after the Watergate scandal.