Hillary Clinton avoided hospital after 9/11 memorial collapse to keep illness a secret
Democratic White House hopeful, 68, was driven to daughter Chelsea’s house to conceal details of her medical treatment
HILLARY Clinton was on her way to hospital after her 9/11 memorial collapse but was diverted to keep her illness secret.
Sources say the Democratic White House hopeful, 68, was driven to daughter Chelsea’s house because an aide did not want her seen by medics who could leak details.
Her van was meant to be escorted by New York cops but the Secret Service whisked her away.
Secret Service protocol dictates that she should have been rushed to a state-designated Level I Trauma Centre after the medical crisis on Sunday.
But a campaign aide decided to change course to avoid having Clinton seen by doctors, nurses and other medical workers who could leak details.
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Her van was also supposed to be escorted by an NYPD protective detail, but the Secret Service whisked her away from Ground Zero before cops could accompany her.
Two separate sources revealed the information as Clinton’s team said they would be revealing fresh medical details about her health this week – insisting she was in good shape.
The Secretary of State, speaking about her collapse for the first time, said she did not lose consciousness in the episode – after believing she could just “power through” her illness.
She said: “I just thought I could keep going forward and power through it and obviously that didn't work out so well.
“Obviously I should have gotten some rest sooner. I probably would have been better off if I'd just pulled down my schedule on Friday.
“But like a lot of people, I just thought I could keep going forward and power through it and obviously that didn't work out so well.”
Clinton said she was now “feeling fine and getting better” and was anxious to get back out on the trail, as her campaign promised to release more information on her health.
She added: “I felt overheated. I decided that I did need to leave, and as soon as I got into the air-conditioned van, I cooled off, I got some water and very quickly I felt better.
“So I felt fine, but I'm now taking my doctor's advice which was given to me on Friday that I ignored to just take some time to get over pneumonia completely.
“No I didn't (pass out or lose consciousness). I felt dizzy and I did lose my balance for a minute, but once I got in, once I could sit down, once I could cool off, I immediately started feeling better.”
Bill Clinton yesterday revealed that his wife had suffered the same symptoms in the past when she had been exhausted.
He accidentally called the medical episodes “frequent” before quickly changing his mind – adding that she now looked “a million bucks”.
The ex-US President said: “Frequently - well, not frequently, rarely - but on more than one occasion, over the last many, many years, the same sort of thing happened to her when she got severely dehydrated.
“And she's worked like a demon as secretary of state, as a senator and in the years since.”
Hillary also tweeted supporters to tell them she was feeling better.
She said: “Thanks to everyone who's reached out with well wishes! I'm feeling fine and getting better.
“Like anyone who's ever been home sick from work, I'm just anxious to get back out there. See you on the trail soon.”
The news comes after conspiracy theorists have moved into overdrive alleging Clinton used a “body double” after her dramatic public collapse while a top scientist claims she may have been poisoned by her rival Donald Trump and Russian President Putin.