George H.W. Bush moved out of ICU, Barbara Bush discharged from hospital

Former President George H.W. Bush is moving out of the intensive care unit and former First Lady Barbara Bush has been discharged from Houston Methodist Hospital, doctors said Monday morning.

Bush, 92, was admitted to the hospital Jan. 14 after experiencing respiratory problems and is recovering from bacterial pneumonia. “His x-rays are continuing to improve,” said Dr. Clint Doerr, a pulmonologist who has been treating Bush. “But a Friday discharge might be a little optimistic… [His discharge date] is a bit of a moving target.” 

Barbara Bush was discharged earlier Monday, and doctors said she is “back to her normal self" after recovering from viral bronchitis. Doctors said she was hospitalized as a precaution.

On Sunday, spokesman Jim McGrath said in a news release that Bush’s vital signs were normal, adding that the former president could move out of the ICU within the next couple of days. And after doctors green-lighted Barbara Bush’s discharge Sunday, the former first lady decided to spend an extra night to stay close to her husband and continue her recovery.

The Bushes will continue recovering from their respective illnesses over the next couple of weeks, doctors said, and Barbara Bush will return to her husband's side in the hospital Monday afternoon. 

“They have such an amazing love for each other,” Dr. Amy Mynderse, another doctor treating the Bushes, said. “Other than sleeping in separate rooms, she’s been sitting at his bed most of the time… They truly are therapy for each other.”