George Bush, 92, and his wife Barbara Bush, 91, have both been hospitalized on Saturday says a spokesman of the former president on Wednesday. The couple have been taken to Houston's Methodist Hospital where the ex-president was rushed to the intensive care unit to manage his respiratory problem from pneumonia. Spokesman Jim McGrath says Mrs. Bush also has been hospitalized as a precaution after being observed with coughing and fatigue.
McGrath says the former president was taken to the hospital for shortness of breath, and was given sedatives for a procedure that clears and protects the airway. His vital signs are stable and he is resting comfortably. Barbara Bush also shows signs of stable health condition but she is being carefully monitored for complications.
Jean Becker, chief of staff to George Bush, told the Houston Chronicle and KHOU-TV that the couple are expected to be discharged in a few days. Bush, who was president from 1989 to 1993, suffers from a form of Parkinson's disease. He rides a motorized scooter or sometimes a wheelchair to help him move around, the Mercury News says.
In 2012, he celebrated Christmas in the intensive care unit for another bronchitis-related cough and other medical problems. In 2015, he was taken to a hospital in Maine after experiencing a bad fall in his summer home. He incurred a broken bone in his neck.
He was again hospitalized last December in Houston for a week due to shortness of breath. Despite his immobility, Bush had a blast on his 90th birthday as he made a tandem parachute jump in Kennebunkport, Maine. He went on a fishing trip in a speedboat, leading 40 wounded soldiers last summer, just three days after his 92nd birthday, the ABC 30 says .
Bush's spokesman announced this month that he and his wife Barbara, would not attend Donald Trump's upcoming inauguration due to their advanced age and complications in health. They sent a congratulatory letter instead. The George Bush and Barbara have celebrated their 72nd wedding anniversary on Jan. 6.
