Barbara Bush hospitalized
Tests ordered; she read to schoolchildren Friday
LOS ANGELES – Former first lady Barbara Bush was hospitalized Saturday morning after “not feeling well,” according to a family spokeswoman.
At the request of her doctor, Bush, 84, was admitted to Methodist Hospital in Houston at 10 a.m. to undergo routine tests.
Her husband, former President George H.W. Bush, accompanied her to the hospital. She is expected to be released within a day or two.
Although Bush hasn’t been feeling “like herself,” she’s been keeping up her public schedule. A champion of literacy as first lady, Bush read to children Friday at Houston’s Barbara Bush Elementary School.
“That just gives you an indication that it’s not serious,” said Jean Becker, the chief of staff for the office of the former president. “This is definitely just in for tests.”
A hospital spokeswoman declined to comment on Bush’s condition. In March 2009, Bush underwent open-heart surgery to replace her aortic valve. She also had surgery in 2008 for a perforated ulcer.