Former First Lady Barbara Bush is in "failing health" and will now receive comfort care in lieu of medical treatment, a spokesman announced on Sunday.
The 92-year-old wife of former President George H.W. Bush and mother of former President George W. Bush has been hospitalized multiple times over the past year while battling Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, or COPD, and congestive heart failure.
Jim McGrath, the spokesman for the elder former president and Mrs. Bush, made the announcement in a statement from Houston.
"Following a recent series of hospitalizations, and after consulting her family and doctors, Mrs. Bush, now age 92, has decided not to seek additional medical treatment and will instead focus on comfort care," McGrath's statement said. "It will not surprise those who know her that Barbara Bush has been a rock in the face of her failing health, worrying not for herself - thanks to her abiding faith—but for others. She is surrounded by a family she adores, and appreciates the many kind messages and especially the prayers she is receiving."
Statement by the Office of George H. W. Bush on the health of former First Lady Barbara Bush. pic.twitter.com/4csUS6IRKZ
— Jim McGrath (@jgm41) April 15, 2018
The Bushes have been married for 73 years.