Former president, wife said to be recovering after health scares

HOUSTON — Former President George H.W. Bush, who is in the intensive care unit at Houston Methodist Hospital, remained in stable condition Thursday, the day after doctors inserted a breathing tube to treat his pneumonia.

Jim McGrath, the Bush family spokesman, said in a statement that the 92-year-old former president had a good night’s rest and that his medical team is “actively evaluating” when he will be ready for the removal of the tube, which has provided support for his lungs. It was inserted Wednesday after Bush’s pneumonia took a turn for the worse.

“We are hopeful he will be discharged from the ICU in a few days,” McGrath said in the statement.

When that occurs, Bush will be transferred to a regular hospital room as doctors continue treating his pneumonia. He was admitted to the hospital Saturday for shortness of breath.

Bush’s wife, Barbara, who was admitted to Methodist hospital Wednesday as a precaution after she began experiencing fatigue and coughing, was feeling “1,000 % better” Thursday morning, McGrath said. She was diagnosed Wednesday evening with bronchitis.

The possibility that the 41st president will be transferred to a regular hospital room in a few days represents a hopeful sign after Wednesday’s news. Pulmonologists not involved in his care said then that the treatment he was receiving suggested that he had a severe case of pneumonia, a worrisome illness for a person his age.

But McGrath appeared upbeat in his Thursday statement. It noted that the Bushes received “an uplifting visit from their dear friends Jim (Bush’s former secretary of state) and Susan Baker last night and are deeply appreciative for the wonderful care they are receiving — as well as the prayers and good wishes from far and wide.”

Bush also approved a tweet Thursday posted on his @GeorgeHWBush account offering “hearty congrats” to former Houston Astro Jeff Bagwell on his election Wednesday to the major league baseball Hall of Fame.