Former U.S. President George H.W. Bush has been moved to an intensive-care unit at a Houston hospital with pneumonia and was stable and resting comfortably after doctors performed a procedure to clear his airway, his office said on Wednesday.
His wife of 72 years, former first lady Barbara Bush, also was admitted to the same hospital on Wednesday as a precaution after experiencing fatigue and coughing, the office said in a statement.
Bush, who at 92 is the nation's oldest living ex-president, has been at Houston Methodist Hospital since Saturday after experiencing shortness of breath, family spokesman Jim McGrath said on Wednesday.
Since then, Bush experienced an "acute respiratory problem stemming from pneumonia" and was sedated for the unspecified procedure, his office said.
He will remain in the hospital's intensive-care unit for observation, his office said.
Bush and the 91-year-old former first lady marked their 72nd anniversary on Jan. 6.
At a White House news conference, President Barack Obama said that the Bushes have been a constant source of friendship and good counsel to him and to first lady Michelle Obama.
"They are as fine a couple as we know, and so we want to send our prayers and our love to them," Obama said.
Bush is the father of former President George W. Bush and former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, who sought the 2016 Republican presidential nomination.
The eldest Bush, a Republican like his sons, was vice president during Ronald Reagan's two White House terms before being elected president in 1988. He lost his re-election bid to Bill Clinton, then the Democratic governor of Arkansas, in 1992.
A naval pilot during World War Two, Bush became an occasional skydiver after leaving the presidency and marked his 90th birthday by parachuting from a helicopter with jump partner.
He has used a wheelchair in recent years and was hospitalized twice in 2014, once for seven weeks with pneumonia and again for breathing difficulties. In July 2015, he broke a bone in his neck in a fall at the family home in Maine.
Bush and his wife were already planning to miss President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration on Friday due to health reasons.
"My doctor says if I sit outside in January, it likely will put me six feet under," Bush wrote to Trump on Jan. 10, according to a copy of the letter released on Wednesday. "Same for Barbara. So I guess we're stuck in Texas."
Trump was critical of George W. and Jeb during the 2016 presidential campaign, and their father did not endorse Trump in his race against Democrat Hillary Clinton.
But in his letter, Bush said he and his wife would be with Trump in spirit at the inauguration and wished him "the very best as you begin this incredible journey of leading our great country."
Republican Senator John McCain and the Carter Center, founded by former President Jimmy Carter, posted tweets wishing Bush a quick recovery.
In December Bush marked the 75th commemoration of Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor by attending a ceremony at his library at Texas A&M University.
Reuters
Thu Jan 19 2017
Bush, who at 92 is the nation's oldest living ex-president, has been at Houston Methodist Hospital since Saturday after experiencing shortness of breath, family spokesman Jim McGrath said on Wednesday. - REUTERS pic
Singapura rampas 1.5 tan produk segar dan makanan proses dari Malaysia
Kira-kira 1.5 tan produk segar dan makanan diproses yang diimport secara haram dari Malaysia dirampas Agensi Makanan Singapura (SFA) selepas satu operasi bersama Pihak Berkuasa Imigresen dan Pusat Pemeriksaan (ICA) awal minggu ini.
Kerajaan Persekutuan ambil alih projek LRT Pulau Pinang dengan syarat
Projek pembangunan LRT Laluan Mutiara Pulau Pinang akan diambil alih oleh Kerajaan Persekutuan tetapi dengan meletakkan syarat kepada Kerajaan Pulau Pinang.
Kerajaan juga akan mempertimbangkan kaedah pembiayaan projek yang sesuai sama ada melalui Peruntukan Pembangunan ataupun kaedah lain yang sesuai.
Kerajaan juga akan mempertimbangkan kaedah pembiayaan projek yang sesuai sama ada melalui Peruntukan Pembangunan ataupun kaedah lain yang sesuai.
Pembangunan LRT tidak ancam George Town
Pembangunan projek Transit Aliran Ringan (LRT) Laluan Mutiara, Pulau Pinang tidak akan mengancam kedudukan Georgetown sebagai Tapak Warisan Dunia Pertubuhan Saintifik, Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan Bangsa-Bangsa Bersatu (UNESCO).
Menteri Pengangkutan, Anthony Loke, berkata semua pertimbangan awal sudah diambil kira termasuk kelulusan yang diperoleh daripada pelaksanaan Penilaian Kesan Alam Sekitar (EIA) dan Penilaian Kesan Sosial (SIA).
Menteri Pengangkutan, Anthony Loke, berkata semua pertimbangan awal sudah diambil kira termasuk kelulusan yang diperoleh daripada pelaksanaan Penilaian Kesan Alam Sekitar (EIA) dan Penilaian Kesan Sosial (SIA).
Tiada layanan istimewa kepada Najib - Penjara
Ketua Pengarah Jabatan Penjara, Datuk Nordin Muhammad menegaskan tiada sebarang layanan istimewa diberikan kepada mana-mana individu termasuk Bekas Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak di penjara.
Lelaki Israel ditahan di KL bersama enam pucuk pistol
Ketua Polis Negara, Tan Sri Razarudin Husain berkata, suspek yang berusia 36 tahun itu masuk ke negara ini menggunakan pasport palsu Perancis.
Beli kondo mewah: Isa Samad, Mohd Emir diperintah bayar RM3.31 juta kepada FGV
Mahkamah Tinggi hari ini memerintahkan bekas Pengerusi FGV Holdings Berhad Tan Sri Mohd Isa Abdul Samad dan bekas Presiden Kumpulan dan Ketua Pegawai Eksekutif Datuk Mohd Emir Mavani Abdullah membayar lebih RM3.31 juta kepada syarikat itu berhubung pembelian dua unit kondominium mewah di ibu negara.
PADU: Lebih 9 juta telah daftar
Pendaftaran Pangkalan Data Utama (PADU) meningkat kepada 9.24 juta setakat Khamis.
PM adakan lawatan singkat ke Sarawak pada Sabtu
Dalam lawatan singkat ke Sarawak pada Sabtu, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim antara lain bakal melakukan walkabout di Bazar Ramadan Desa Ilmu disusuli Majlis Iftar Berbuka Puasa Madani di Masjid Al-Muttaqin
UMNO Sabah akan lebih teliti pilih calon - Bung Moktar
Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin tidak mahu calon yang akan diketengahkan UMNO dalam PN Sabah nanti ditolak rakyat sekaligus mendatangkan kerugian buat parti itu.
Tempoh reman 13 remaja suspek kes bunuh pelajar kolej disambung
Hakim Mahkamah Nur Asyraf Zolhani membenarkan tempoh reman disambung tujuh hari bermula Jumaat