Eunice Kennedy Shriver released from hospital

BALTIMORE - Eunice Kennedy Shriver has been released from the hospital following seven weeks of treatment for a postoperative infection.

Shriver, a sister of the late President John F. Kennedy, left Johns Hopkins Hospital on Wednesday, said her son, Maryland lawmaker Mark Shriver.

''My father, brothers, sister and I are extremely excited to have our mother come home,'' Mark Shriver said in a statement.

Eunice Kennedy Shriver underwent surgery at the hospital on Oct. 12 to remove a benign pancreatic tumor and was later released. She was readmitted Oct. 23 after developing an infection and spent several weeks in critical condition.

Shriver, whose sister Rosemary was mentally retarded, organized the first Special Olympics in 1968 in Chicago. Her husband, R. Sargent Shriver, was the founding director of the Peace Corps and the Democratic vice presidential candidate in 1972.