41st President Bush battles pneumonia, wife has bronchitis
Published 9:57 am Thursday, January 19, 2017
HOUSTON — Former President George H.W. Bush and his wife, Barbara, on Thursday remained hospitalized in Houston, where he was in intensive care for pneumonia and she was being treated for bronchitis.
The 92-year-old former president went into the ICU on Wednesday and 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, McGrath 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 Saturday 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 decided “to take it out of committee and have the experts check it out.” She had complained of fatigue and coughing and doctors were treating her for bronchitis, he said Thursday.
Physicians initially believed the former president would be released later this week following several days of treatment, but his stay has been extended, McGrath said. There is no timetable for his release.