In her first public appearance since the accident, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos said today that she broke her pelvis and hip socket. | Mark Wilson/Getty Images education DeVos in wheelchair after breaking her pelvis and hip socket in bicycle mishap

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos is recovering in a wheelchair from a recent bicycling accident, calling the ordeal “very painful.”

In her first public appearance since the accident, DeVos said Thursday that she broke her pelvis and hip socket. She underwent surgery earlier this month.


“Very painful,” she said. “But it will heal. I just have to stay off of it for quite a few weeks, so I’m getting around with other means.”

The Education Department had said earlier only that she had broken a bone while road biking and would rest and recover at home while staying in touch with the office, without offering more details.

DeVos made the remarks at an entrepreneurship event in Washington. The Lemonade Day event focused on the challenges of business startups was hosted by Gallup.

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DeVos described growing up in an entrepreneurial family — and working in the factory of her father’s automotive parts business — as a formative experience.

She said that allowing students to have more individualized and customized educational experiences would help boost American entrepreneurship, which is being hampered by a lack of risk-taking and pressure for students to conform.

“You have to be willing to change,” DeVos said. “And change is hard.”

DeVos said that the most exciting schools she visits are those that offer career paths to students at young ages.