Barbara Bush discharged from hospital, former President George H.W. Bush moved out of ICU
HOUSTON, Jan 23 (Reuters) - The health of former U.S. President George H.W. Bush, 92, has improved and on Monday he is moving out of the intensive care unit of a Houston hospital where he has been treated for more than a week for bacterial pneumonia, doctors said.
Former first lady Barbara Bush, 91, has been discharged from the same hospital after being treated for bronchitis, doctors at Houston Methodist Hospital said at a news conference.
"He is a really strong person. He is not your average 92 year old," Dr. Amy Mynderse said of the former president.
President and Mrs @GeorgeHWBush thank their fellow Americans and friends from around the world for their prayers and good wishes. pic.twitter.com/PhpXXGKl6p
— Jim McGrath (@jgm41) January 23, 2017
Doctors added he is expected to spend a few more days in the hospital. Bush, who had a breathing tube removed from him last week, is now sitting up and watching television.
Bush, the nation's oldest living ex-president, has been at Houston Methodist Hospital since Jan. 14 after experiencing shortness of breath.
"He hasn't made any big political statements," Mynderse said when asked by a reporter if Bushhas mentioned new President Donald Trump.
Related: Barbara and George H.W. Bush through the years
Barbara Bush was admitted to the same hospital on Wednesday as a precaution after experiencing fatigue and coughing, family spokesman Jim McGrath has said.
"Mrs. Bush had a viral bronchitis and was really just running herself ragged trying to be up here with him," Mynderse said.
The couple marked their 72nd wedding anniversary on Jan. 6.
The former president was invited to attend Friday's inauguration of his fellow Republican Trump.Bush, the only living former president not in attendance, ended up watching the proceedings from his hospital room and sent Trump, whom he did not endorse as a candidate, a letter of support, McGrath said.
His son George W. Bush, another former president, attended the ceremony.
Another one of his sons, former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, ran unsuccessfully against Trump last year for the Republican Party's presidential nomination.
(Writing and reporting by Jon Herskovitz in Austin, Texas; Additional reporting by Lisa Maria Garza in Dallas and Ernest Scheyder in Houston; Editing by Bernadette Baum and Tom Brown)
