Former President George H.W. Bush and his wife are in the hospital
George H.W. Bush and his wife Barbara Bush are both in the hospital.
Former President Bush was taken to the hospital on Saturday for shortness of breath, Family spokesperson Jim McGrath tweeted Wednesday. A few hours later, McGrath said in a statement the 92-year-old was admitted to the ICU with "an acute respiratory problem stemming from pneumonia."
He was sedated for a procedure to clear his airway, but he is "stable and resting comfortably," the tweet said. He will remain in the hospital for observation.
McGrath also says Barbara Bush was admitted to the same hospital Wednesday morning "as a precaution after experiencing fatigue and coughing."
In a letter to Donald Trump, President Bush said he and Barbara Bush wouldn't be attending Friday's inauguration because, "My doctor says if I sit outside in January, it likely will put me six feet under," ABC News tweeted. McGrath confirmed the letter was legit in a tweet Wednesday morning.
Bush, who was elected the 41st president of the United States, has Parkinson's disease and uses a motorized scooter or wheelchair to get around, The Associated Press says. He's had shortness of breath in the past that required hospitalization, but he hasn't let his age stop him – to celebrate his 90th birthday, he went skydiving.
