Former President George H.W. Bush and his wife, Barbara, are both doing relatively well after being hospitalized with respiratory ailments, a family spokesman said Thursday.
"President Bush had a good night's rest and remains in stable condition in the ICU at Houston Methodist Hospital," spokesman Jim McGrath said in a statement. Doctors are evaluating him for "extubation" — removing him from a ventilator — "and we are hopeful he will be discharged from the ICU in a few days," he said.
Related: George H.W. Bush and Wife, Barbara, Hospitalized as ‘Precaution’ for Separate Health Issues
George Bush, 92, was hospitalized Saturday for shortness of breath, and underwent a procedure to treat an acute respiratory problem stemming from pneumonia, according to McGrath. A tube was used to remove a blockage in a lung, he said.
Barbara Bush, 91, was hospitalized Tuesday for what turned out to be bronchitis, McGrath said. "Mrs. Bush reports that she feels '1,000% better this morning'" thanks to "antibiotics and some good rest," he added.
George H.W. Bush has a form of Parkinson's disease and uses a motorized scooter or a wheelchair for mobility. He's suffered from other respiratory difficulties in recent years.
The Bushes had already declined an invitation to the Friday inauguration of Donald Trump, citing their age and health.
A potential sign of the former president's improving condition came in the form of a tweet Thursday afternoon, in which he congratulated former Houston Astros slugger Jeff Bagwell on being voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
