President George H.W. Bush, who just suffered the loss of his wife Barbara last week, is in Houston Methodist Hospital this morning after being admitted on Sunday.
Bush, who is 93 years old, apparently was suffering from a blood infection. His hospitalization comes one day after Barbara Bush was laid to rest in College Station.
Family spokesman Jim McGrath, in a statement, said that, “"President Bush was admitted to the Houston Methodist Hospital yesterday morning after contracting an infection that spread to his blood. He is responding to treatments and appears to be recovering. We will issue additional updates as events warrant.”
McGrath also told a Houston television station that Mr. Bush is looking forward to going to Maine this summer, and that you shouldn’t bet against it.
"He's the most goal-oriented person on this planet," McGrath said.
As for what caused the infection, Dr, Michael Chang said it could be as simple as the heartbreak of losing is wife of 73 years last week.
“Loss of a spouse certainly qualifies as tremendous stress on the system,” Chang said. “Our immune system is affected obviously not only by our age, but our other medical conditions such as diabetes, heart disease and it's also affected adversely by stress.”
George H.W. Bush uses a wheelchair and an electric scooter for mobility after developing a form of Parkinson's disease, and he has needed hospital treatment several times in recent years for respiratory problems.