Lowery in hospital for nearly two weeks now

By Ty Tagami

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

It's been nearly two weeks since the Rev. Joseph Lowery was hospitalized for a blood clot, and on Thursday he remained in stable condition, a spokesman at Emory University Hospital Midtown said.

The hospital has said that Lowery suffered a pulmonary embolism, or blood clot in the lung. He was hospitalized on Jan. 30, and has remained in stable condition since.

Friends of the historic civil rights leader said soon after he was hospitalized that they expected him to be released early last week. But hospital spokesman Lance Skelly told the AJC Thursday that there is no estimated release date and that the hospital was considering his condition "day to day."

Lowery, 88, received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the country's highest civilian honor, last summer. He gave the benediction at the inauguration of President Barack Obama last year.

The legendary Atlantan was a co-founder of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, the signature civil rights group originally headed by Martin Luther King, Jr. Lowery was its president for two decades beginning in the late 1970s.