Volkswacht Bodensee - Recovering Lula 'lucid' and walking in Brazil hospital

The 79-year-old leftist leader had successful emergency surgery Tuesday in which doctors drilled through Lula's skull to relieve pressure that built up after a blow to the head in October, when he fell in a bathroom in his presidential residence.

On Thursday he underwent a follow-up operation to minimize the risk of further bleeding in the affected area of the protective intracranial membranes. Doctors called the operation a success and said the president is doing well.

Lula "continues to be hospitalized at the Hospital Sirio-Libanes, in Sao Paulo, under semi-intensive care. Today he will undergo blood tests," the facility said in a statement, adding that no further imaging tests have been scheduled.

"He remains lucid and oriented, eating and walking," the hospital said.

A smiling Lula on Friday appeared walking through corridors of the hospital in a video posted to his social media accounts, in the first public images of the leader since he underwent surgery.

He is expected to be discharged next Monday or Tuesday and return to the capital Brasilia, where he will gradually resume his duties but will require "relative rest over several weeks," according to his doctors.

P.Keller--VB