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Former First Lady Barbara Bush Released From Hospital

Former first lady Barbara Bush in March 2012.
Tom Pennington
/
Getty Images
Former first lady Barbara Bush in March 2012.

Former first lady Barbara Bush is home after more than five days of treatment at a Houston hospital. She had pneumonia.

The Houston Chronicle reports that Bush family spokesman Jim McGrath says the 88-year-old wife of one president and mother of another had a couple "truly great days" in which she responded well to treatment.

The Chronicle adds that in a statement, the former first lady says "I cannot thank the doctors and nurses at Houston Methodist enough for making sure I got the best treatment and got back to George and our dogs as quickly as possible."

This was the second straight holiday season in which one of the former first couple spent time in Houston Methodist Hospital. Former President George H.W. Bush was a patient there for nearly two months, from Thanksgiving 2012 past New Year's Day 2013. He had been suffering from bronchitis, a bacterial infection and a persistent cough.

The former president is 89.

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Mark Memmott
Mark Memmott is NPR's supervising senior editor for Standards & Practices. In that role, he's a resource for NPR's journalists – helping them raise the right questions as they do their work and uphold the organization's standards.