Barbara's health is falling

Ailing first lady, 92, declines treatment

Former First Lady Barbara Bush is in failing health and has chosen not to seek further medical treatment, a family spokesman said Sunday.

“Following a recent series of hospitalizations and after consulting her family and doctors, Mrs. Bush, now age 92, has decided not to seek additional medical treatment and will instead focus on comfort care,” the spokesman, Jim McGrath, said in a statement.

The Queens-born Barbara Bush — the wife of former President George H.W. Bush, 93, and mother of former President George W. Bush, 71 — has been fighting congestive heart failure and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease for the past year, CNN reported, citing a source close to the family.

“It will not surprise those who know her that Barbara Bush has been a rock in the face of her failing health, worrying not for herself — thanks to her abiding faith — but for others,” the statement said. “She is surrounded by a family she adores, and appreciates the many kind messages and especially the prayers she is receiving.”

Barbara Bush is one of only two first ladies to also become the mother of a president. The other was Abigail Adams, wife of John Adams and mother of John Quincy Adams.

Bush was born Barbara Pierce in Flushing on June 8, 1925. Her father, Marvin Pierce, was president of McCall Corporation, publisher of the women’s magazines Redbook and McCall’s.

She met her future husband at age 16 in 1941 while at home from boarding school on Christmas break. They married Jan. 6, 1945, while he was a naval aviator, and had six children, including former presidential candidate and ex-Florida Gov. Jeb Bush

They have been married longer than any US presidential couple.

Her husband has also suffered health issues in recent years. In April 2017, he was hospitalized in Houston for two weeks for mild pneumonia and chronic bronchitis. He has a form of Parkinson’s disease.

Barbara Bush has been an advocate for boosting literacy among parents and their children.

The Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy began during her White House years. The foundation partners with local programs and has awarded more than $40 million to create or expand more than 1,500 literacy programs nationwide. With AP

HER FAMILY’S ‘ROCK’: Former First Lady Barbara Bush — here with “First Dog” Millie in 1990 — will focus on “comfort care” instead of treatment after recent hospitalizations, her family said on Sunday.