Bush released from Houston hospital

Former president had been treated for infection

HOUSTON — Former President George H.W. Bush was released from a Houston hospital on Friday after spending 13 days being treated for an infection that required his hospitalization a day after his wife’s funeral.

Jim McGrath, a spokesman for the 93-year-old Bush, tweeted that doctors at Houston Methodist Hospital “report he is doing well” and that the former president is “happy to return home.”

The nation’s 41st president was admitted to the hospital on April 22 for treatment of an infection that spread to his blood. Bush spent some time in an intensive care unit before being moved to a regular patient room.

Bush was hospitalized a day after he attended the funeral and burial of his 92-year-old wife, Barbara, who died on April 17 at their Houston home. Married for 73 years, the Bushes were the longest-married presidential couple in U.S. history.

In a tweet sent out during his hospitalization, Bush thanked Houston for its “professionalism and obvious care” during the memorials and services for his wife.

McGrath had previously said Bush was eager to get well so he could get to his summer home in Kennebunkport, Maine. He also noted that while hospitalized, Bush had been more focused on the Houston Rockets playoff series against the Minnesota Timberwolves “than anything that landed him in the hospital.”

The Rockets won the series 4-1 on April 25. Bush, frequently accompanied by his wife, has long been a fixture at Houston sporting events.

Bush has used a wheelchair and an electric scooter for mobility since developing a form of Parkinson’s disease, and he has needed hospital treatment several times in recent years for respiratory problems.