Barbara Bush remains hospitalized but is in ‘great spirits’

HOUSTON -- Former First Lady Barbara Bush remained hospitalized Thursday after being admitted earlier this week for early signs of pneumonia.

Bush, 88, was being treated at Methodist Hospital in Houston’s Texas Medical Center for treatment of a respiratory-related issue, a family spokesman said.

“She’s still doing great, still in great spirits. We have not heard any plans for discharge just yet -- we’re still in a wait-and-see mode,” spokesman Jim McGrath told The Times on Thursday.

“She’s keen to get home to her dogs and her husband -- and not in that order,” he said, “When I talk to her, she sounds like she’s 100 percent.”

He said Bush has not undergone surgery since she has been at the hospital.

Dignitaries have sent the former first lady words of encouragement this week. They include President Obama and former President Clinton, who tweeted on Wednesday to former President George H.W. Bush’s new Twitter account, “I’ll be rooting for Barbara Bush’s full recovery while she’s rooting for Baylor today. All my best to her and George H.W. Bush.”

Baylor was beaten by Central Florida, 52-42, in the Fiesta Bowl Wednesday night.

Former President Bush, 89, has visited his wife at the hospital regularly, and McGrath said she has also been hearing from family and friends, “the extended Bush political family.”

“She’s certainly appreciative of everyone’s good wishes,” McGrath said. “ She doesn’t want anybody to make a fuss -- that’s Barbara Bush.”

Earlier this year, George H.W. Bush, the nation’s oldest former president, was also treated at Methodist Hospital for bronchitis, a bacterial infection and a persistent cough. He was released after two months.

While first lady, Barbara Bush revealed in 1989 that she suffered from Graves’ disease, an autoimmune disorder that affects the thyroid. She began taking medications for the disease and received radiation as part of her treatment.

In 2008, she underwent surgery at Methodist Hospital to close a hole in her small intestine caused by an ulcer and, later, to replace an aortic valve.

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