Barbara Bush Remains Hospitalized for Respiratory Condition

Former first lady Barbara Bush remains hospitalized in Houston while receiving treatment for a respiratory-related condition.

The 88-year-old wife of former President George H.W. Bush was "doing great and responding well" Thursday, family spokesman Jim McGrath told The Christian Science Monitor.

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However, there's no date set yet for her discharge.

"We're hopeful that will take place sooner rather than later," McGrath said.

Bush has been at Houston's Methodist Hospital since Monday. The extended stay is because doctors want to be cautious, McGrath said.

The Bushs, who will celebrate their 69th wedding anniversary on Jan. 6, spends the winter in Houston because of the warmer weather. They live in Maine in the summer.

The former president tweeted to President Barack Obama and former President Bill Clinton, thanking them for their support regarding his wife. He said she was "heeding their advice."

Barbara thanks @BarackObama& @billclinton for their get-well wishes and is heeding their advice. Doesnt happen w every President she knows!

— George Bush (@GeorgeHWBush) January 2, 2014

The Bush family matriarch also saw her son, George W. Bush, become the country's 43rd president. Her other son, former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, has been named a possible presidential candidate in 2016.

She had battled health problems in recent years, including undergoing heart surgery in March 2009, according to The Christian Science Monitor. She was also hospitalized in November 2008, and underwent surgery for a perforated ulcer.

Her 89-year-old husband, the nation's oldest living former president, had back surgery in April 2013.

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