Ex-President George H.W. Bush leaves the hospital

January 14, 2013 @ 2:55 pm


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Associated Press

HOUSTON (AP) - Former President George H.W. Bush was released from a Houston hospital and went home Monday after spending nearly two months being treated for a bronchitis-related cough and other health issues, a family spokesman said.

Bush, 88, the nation's oldest living former president, was admitted to Methodist Hospital on Nov. 23. His stay included a week in intensive care last month.

"I am deeply grateful for the wonderful doctors and nurses at Methodist who took such good care of me," Bush said in a statement released by spokesman Jim McGrath. "Let me add just how touched we were by the many get-well messages we received from our friends and fellow Americans. Your prayers and good wishes helped more than you know, and as I head home my only concern is that I will not be able to thank each of you for your kind words."

Bush had been in the hospital for about a month before his office disclosed in late December that he was in intensive care because physicians were having difficulty controlling a fever that developed after the cough improved.

His office said on Dec. 29 that he had been moved back to a regular hospital room. Since then, his condition had continued to improve and he has been undergoing physical therapy to rebuild his strength.

"Mr. Bush has improved to the point that he will not need any special medication when he goes home, but he will continue physical therapy," Amy Mynderse, the doctor in charge of Bush's care, said in Monday's statement.

Bush's office said he was treated for a bacterial infection, along with the bronchitis and cough.

Bush and his wife, Barbara, live in Houston during the winter and spend their summers in Kennebunkport, Maine. On Jan. 6, they celebrated their 68th wedding anniversary. They are the longest-married presidential couple.

"The problem now is he's no longer going to be pampered by all these nurses and health care providers in the hospital; now his caregiver is Barbara Bush," Bush's son, Jeb, the former governor of Florida, joked Monday at an education forum in Nashville, Tenn.

"Now I'm going to have to call my mother and apologize," he quickly added.

White House press secretary Jay Carney posted a message on Twitter stating: "Great news re POTUS 41," a reference to Bush as the nation's 41st president. "From 44 down, we all are relieved he's out of the hospital and wish him & his family well."

Bush had served two terms as Ronald Reagan's vice president when he was elected in 1988 to be the nation's 41st president. Four years later, after a term highlighted by the success of the 1991 Gulf War in Kuwait, he lost to Democrat Bill Clinton amid voter concerns about the economy.

Bush has a long record of service, beginning with his enlistment in the Navy in World War II. At one point, he was the nation's youngest naval aviator. He was shot down in the Pacific and rescued by an American submarine. He's also been a congressman from Texas, U.S. ambassador to China and CIA director.

He suffers from a form of Parkinson's disease that has forced him in recent years to use a motorized scooter or wheelchair to get around.

___

Associated Press writers Erik Schelzig in Nashville, Tenn., and Jim Kuhnhenn in Washington contributed to this story.


(Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
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Comments (14)


  • Add A Comment

  • CH wrote...
    "cautiously optimistic" . . . .
    December 25, 2012 12:16 pm
    that why he did not send the troops into Baghdad. His son was not so smart.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • It's me! Ha ha! wrote...
    Show some respect ch.
    December 27, 2012 5:59 am
    You are a disgusting PIG. Left wing Parrot!
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • trainer jon wrote...
    While I might not have...
    December 27, 2012 6:32 am
    Liked his tenure as president, nor cared for his sons, Someone is about to lose their father. That is a terrible experience for anyone. Please keep your politically charged posts and save em for another story. That goes for all sides, not just one.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • TwoTrees wrote...
    The DOCTORS are 'cautiously optimistic.'
    December 27, 2012 6:36 am
    Yeesh.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • CH wrote...
    Maybe 'W' can see what it is like to lose their father . . . .
    December 27, 2012 9:58 am
    like the Fathers_ he sent(to a made up)war and did not return. Thank God DLO got us out of Iraq. I have no love lost for the Bushes. Sir was better than Jr. Show some respect ch? Like you do with Dear Leader Obama?
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Moondoggie wrote...
    And that's why I don't bother replying to anything CH posts.
    December 27, 2012 10:14 am
    .
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Moondoggie wrote...
    Bush 41
    December 27, 2012 10:17 am
    Check out the video of HW Bush being rescued by an American submarine after his plane was shot down in the Pacific. Few of us are worthy enough to even carry his jockstrap.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Moondoggie wrote...
    UTube
    December 27, 2012 10:29 am
    USS Finback submarine rescue.------ Bush’s job was come in very low aimed straight at enemy ships and drop a torpedo. Can you think of a higher risk mission than that?
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Mo Gaud wrote...
    Actually, yes I can
    December 27, 2012 11:41 am
    Doolittle raid (no fuel to make it back home), Ploesti (heavy bombers @ treetop level flying straight into waiting A.A.), the Bloody 100th over Berlin (one plane from the entire squadron returned), to name just a few. Brass balls indeed.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • CH wrote...
    Can you think of a higher risk mission than that? . . . .
    December 27, 2012 6:43 pm
    sending our troops into Iraq because of WMD. And that's why I don't bother replying to anything CH posts. Then why did you? Few of us are worthy enough to even carry his jockstrap. Who would want to? Bet you would. Think what you would do with it, is making me sick. I hate it when bottom fish get on my hook. What a waste of bait.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • longwayhome wrote...
    republicans have a wierd
    December 27, 2012 7:49 pm
    Way of honoring their "heroes". "Jock Strap Mcmoondoggie" kind of worries me, "it's me" is non-existent. The bush family has not done any favors to this country, except increase the value of halliburton stock 10 fold. If a republican were in the same situation these negative posters would be having a heyday. Hypocrites, all of them.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }