George HW Bush Is Out of Hospital

Former President George HW Bush was released Friday from a Houston hospital where he received treatment for a mild case of pneumonia and chronic bronchitis during a two-week stay, the AP reports. "President and Mrs. Bush are very pleased to be home spending time with family and friends and grateful for the outstanding care provided by his doctors and nurses," Bush spokesman Jim McGrath said in a statement. The 92-year-old Bush had been admitted to Houston Methodist Hospital on April 14 for treatment of a persistent cough. Doctors determined he had pneumonia.

But after the pneumonia was treated, Bush remained hospitalized as he dealt with a case of chronic bronchitis—a constant irritation of the lining of tubes that carry air to one's lungs. Bush's doctors said chronic bronchitis is a condition more prevalent with age and can aggravate the symptoms of pneumonia. Bush will continue receiving treatment for bronchitis at home, but this should not affect the 41st president's plans to travel to his home in Kennebunkport, Maine, where he and his 91-year-old wife, Barbara, spend their summers, McGrath said in an email. Bush and his wife live in Houston during the winter. (More George HW Bush stories.)