George HW Bush has been admitted to a Houston hospital after contracting an infection that spread to his blood, a family spokesman said on Monday.
Mr Bush, 93, was admitted to Houston Methodist Hospital on Sunday, a day after a funeral was held for the former president’s wife, Barbara Bush, spokesman Jim McGrath said.
"President Bush was admitted to the Houston Methodist Hospital yesterday morning after contracting an infection that spread to his blood," said Mr McGrath.
"He is responding to treatments and appears to be recovering."
His wife of 73 years died last week, after she decided to seek comfort care instead of medical treatment.
Evan Vucci/AP
Her death marked the end of the longest presidential marriage in American history, followed only by Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter, who have been married for 71 years.
John and Abigail Adams — married for 54 years — held the record for much of American history; Abigail Adams, like Mrs Bush, was wife to one president and mother to another.
And Mr Bush remains America’s longest-living president, having surpassed Gerald Ford, who died at 93 years and 165 days, last November.
Click Here: Cheap Chiefs Rugby Jersey 2019
He will celebrate his 94th birthday in June.
Paul Morse/AP
The former president has been in a wheelchair for the past five years, and suffers from a rare condition known as vascular Parkinsonism, which is generally believed to be caused by small strokes that damage the same brain structures as are affected in Parkinson’s Disease.
His perpetual, strained smile may be a side effect of the drug levodopa, used to treat Parkinson’s Disease. Levodopa can also cause involuntary movements.
Shortly after Christmas 2017, Mr Bush was taken to hospital with pneumonia, and was forced to miss President Donald Trump’s inauguration at the end of January.
The admission was the former president’s fourth hospital stay in five years, but Mr McGrath said at the time that the former president remained a fighter.
“It’s a serious situation,” he said. “He’s 92. He has pneumonia. He’s in the ICU. But again, you don’t bet against George Bush.”
Comments are closed