Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Former president and first lady hospitalized
George H.W. Bush is being treated for pneumonia.
HOUSTON — Former President George H.W. Bush was admitted Wednesday to the intensive care unit of a Houston hospital with pneumonia, and his wife, Barbara, was hospitalized as a precaution after suffering fatigue and coughing, a spokesman said.
The 92-year-old former president, who had been hospitalized since Saturday, underwent a procedure “to protect and clear his airway that required sedation,” family spokesman Jim McGrath said in a statement.
Bush was stable and resting comfortably at Houston Methodist Hospital, where he was to stay for observation, the statement said.
The 41st president was placed in the ICU to address “an acute respiratory problem stemming from pneumonia,” McGrath said. He later told The Associated Press that doctors were happy with how the procedure went. Bush was first admitted to the hospital for shortness of breath.
“I don’t think there’s a whole lot of money to be gained betting against George Bush,” McGrath said. “We’re just kind of in a wait-and-see mode.”
McGrath said Barbara Bush, who is 91, had not been feeling well for a couple of weeks, “and it finally just got to the point this morning where she said she wanted to take it out of committee and have the experts check it out.”
McGrath described the move as precautionary.
Bush’s office announced earlier this month that the couple would not attend Donald Trump’s inauguration on Friday because of the former president’s age and health.
“My doctor says if I sit outside in January, it likely will put me six feet under. Same for Barbara. So I guess we’re stuck in Texas,” Bush wrote in a letter to Trump.
His son, George W. Bush, still plans to attend the inauguration.