Hillary Clinton FAINTS and suffers concussion just days after insisting she's not too old to run for President in 2016

By ASSOCIATED PRESS

PUBLISHED: 12:35 EST, 15 December 2012 | UPDATED: 05:09 EST, 16 December 2012

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has suffered a concussion after a fainting fit Saturday morning and is now recovering at home, officials said today. The State Department says Clinton was dehydrated because of the virus and that she fainted, causing the concussion. No further details were immediately available.

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Fainting fit: U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has fainted and suffered a concussion and is now recovering at home today

Not too old: While she maintains publicly that she has little interest in running for president in 2016, Hillary Clinton doesn't want anyone to think she is too old for the job

Leading lady: Clinton, pictured behind President Obama, is recovering from home after suffering a concussion after fainting

An aide, Philippe Reines, says Clinton will work from home next week, where she will be monitored by doctors.

Congressional aides do not expect her to testify as scheduled at congressional hearings on Thursday into the Sept. 11 attack against a U.S. diplomatic outpost in Benghazi, Libya, that killed four Americans, including the U.S. ambassador.

'Secretary Clinton's team contacted Senator [John] Kerry this morning to inform them of the Secretary's concussion,' Jodi Seth, a Kerry spokesperson, said Saturday.

'Senator Kerry was relieved to hear that the Secretary is on the mend, but he insisted that given her condition, she could not and should not appear on Thursday as previously planned, and that the nation's best interests are served by the report and hearings proceeding as scheduled with senior officials appearing in her place.'

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The aides spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to publicly discuss Clinton's status.

Clinton pulled out of a weeklong trip to North Africa and the Middle East because of a stomach virus this week.

'Stamina:' At 67 years old, Clinton insisted to Barbara Walters that she is healthy and has plenty of energy and stamina

'Stamina:' At 67 years old, Clinton bragged to Barbara Walters just days before fainting that she is healthy and has plenty of energy and stamina

Only days before, Clinton had said she was in excellent health during an interview with Barbara Walters.

At 67, detractors have claimed Clinton's advancing age and health make her too old to realistically serve as a two-term president were she elected in 2016.

'I am, thankfully, knock on wood, not only healthy, but have incredible stamina and energy,' Clinton told Barbara Walters.

Clinton has a history of fainting, having a brief spell in in 2005 during an appearance before a women's group in Buffalo.

In that case, she recovered quickly and immediately resumed all scheduled appearances.