Gives Emotional Radio Speech Before Leaving Hospital : Jovial Reagan Back in White House

A jovial President Reagan, feeling restless and claiming to be eager for work just a week after cancer surgery, returned Saturday to the White House from Bethesda Naval Medical Center after threatening to send his surgeons to Congress to help trim the budget deficit.

A crowd of 2,000 official well-wishers--including top aides and Cabinet members--greeted the President with balloons, placards and band music when he returned by helicopter to the South Lawn. His wife, Nancy, gripped his hand tightly as they made their way to the residence and posed briefly for pictures on the first-floor balcony.

Reagan’s own bouvier sheep dog, Lucky, was also on hand. A Marine jazz sextet played “When You’re Smiling,” and signs proclaimed: “The Gipper Is Home” and “Chin Up!” Despite 90-degree heat and heavy humidity, tourists crowded against the White House fence to catch a glimpse of the arrival.

Appeared Uneasy

Dressed in a blue-checked, open-collar shirt, Reagan seemed slightly stiff and uneasy--the lingering effect of an operation that removed a cancerous tumor from his colon. He looked trimmer than usual, but aides insisted that he had lost less than five pounds.

In his weekly radio address immediately before leaving the hospital, the President thanked his doctors, praised his wife, hailed the “love of Americans for Americans” and advised anyone who suspects a health problem to get a medical checkup.

The five-minute speech, usually devoted to matters of state, was a highly emotional and personal one, reflecting the thoughts of a man who has survived a brush with a life-threatening illness.

Although aides have differed with some cancer experts who say that Reagan should have undergone a more extensive examination 14 months ago when a benign polyp was discovered in his colon, the President said in his speech that he was “speaking from my own experience” in stressing the need for a checkup “if you think something isn’t right.”

“We all tend to ignore the signs that something may be wrong with us,” he said. “So, if you’re listening right now, and it reminds you of something that you’ve been putting out of your mind, well, pick up the phone, call your doctor or local hospital and talk to someone. Just tell them Dr. Reagan sent you.”

At the same time, Reagan could not resist a gibe at Congress and the Democrats’ budget proposal for fiscal 1986. “I’ll tell you what I think of the House budget proposal so far,” he said. “I hope that it gets well soon. In fact, I told one of the fine surgeons who operated on me that if Congress can’t make the spending cuts we need, I’m going to send him up there to do some real cutting.”

Medical Pun

Concluding this thought with yet another medical pun, he added: “Forgive me, I just don’t have as much stomach for that kind of talk as I used to”--a reference to the two-foot section of colon that was removed from his body.

In a broadcast response for the Democrats, Rep. Tom Bevill (D-Ala.) said both parties in the Democratic-controlled House “acted responsibly” in passing a budget and asserted that it is up to the Republican majority in the Senate to find a solution to the current impasse.

White House spokesman Larry Speakes said the President will begin lobbying congressmen by telephone on budget issues early this week. In addition, Reagan will meet Monday with top aides and host an abbreviated official state visit Tuesday for Chinese President Li Xiannian.

Like anyone confined to bed for a week, Reagan expressed a strong desire in his radio talk to return to his daily routine. “You get the feeling that life’s out there and it’s a big shiny apple, and you just can’t wait to get out and take a bite out of it,” he said.

Tribute to First Lady

His tribute to Nancy added to the intimate nature of the speech. Comparing her to Abigail Adams, Dolley Madison and Eleanor Roosevelt, he vowed to remember always “your radiance and your strength, your support,” as well as her help in conducting “the business of the nation.”

“By the way,” he added, in a remark that Speakes later said was ad-libbed, “are you doing anything this evening?” He winked at his spouse, who was sitting beside him.

Before leaving the hospital, Reagan met with his surgeon, Dr. Dale Oller; ate a breakfast of granola, banana, toast with honey and coffee, followed later at the White House with a lunch of chicken and rice salad with tea. Speakes said nurses reported that he had “danced a jig” in the hospital hallway on Friday night.

About 200 white-uniformed naval personnel greeted the President outside the hospital, where a band played “Anchors Aweigh.” Reagan spoke for a few moments to hospital officials and members of the medical team that had treated him and then departed, wearing a blue baseball cap emblazoned with the word “Navy” that had been given to him by the staff.

When asked by a reporter if he had paid his hospital bill, Reagan replied: “I’ve never asked anyone. If I don’t, they’ll send a bill.” Speakes said the charge for Reagan’s eight-room suite was $452 a day.