Two surgeries, two hospitals and more than two weeks later, New York Gov. George Pataki went home Monday.

“It’s great to feel the fresh air and the sunshine,” a pale and thin-looking governor said as he stepped out of Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center with his wife, Libby, by his side.

“I’m not 100 percent, but I’m a lot better than I was a few days ago.”

His surgeon, Dr. Spencer Amory, predicted that it will take the governor six more weeks before he’s fully recovered after suffering complications from an emergency appendectomy.

“He’ll still require some intravenous antibiotics at home,” Amory said. “There’s still a small possibility of infection.”

Pataki, 60, was hospitalized for 19 days after surgery Feb. 16 at the Hudson Valley Hospital Center near his home in Peekskill. Five days later he was transferred to Columbia Presbyterian to remove an intestinal blockage.

On Monday, looking tired but relaxed, Pataki drew laughs from reporters and photographers when he said he was excited about tackling the budget.

The state’s budget was on time last year for the first time in more than two decades.

The three-term governor said he will work from home while he recovers. Pataki, a potential presidential candidate, had to cancel trips to New Hampshire and California.

Pataki, who has said he can’t wait to have pizza or a hamburger and a beer, on Monday allowed that the indulgence was “still a few days off.”