Former First Lady Barbara Bush in 'failing health,' says family statement

'It will not surprise those who know her that Barbara Bush has been a rock in the face of her failing health,' spokesman says

Barbara Bush at the baseball World Series in 2017 ( David J Phillip/Reuters via USA TODAY Sports)

Former First Lady Barbara Bush is in “failing health” and will not seek additional medical treatment.

“Following a recent series of [hospital visits], and after consulting her family and doctors, Mrs Bush, 92, has decided not to seek additional medical treatment and will instead focus on comfort care,” spokesman Jim McGrath said in a statement.

Mr McGrath did not elaborate as to the nature of Mrs Bush's health problems. She has been treated for decades for Graves' disease, which is a thyroid condition.

“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,” McGrath said. “She is surrounded by a family she adores, and appreciates the many kind messages and especially the prayers she is receiving.”

Mrs Bush holds a unique place in US history. She is the only woman to see her husband and son sworn in as U.S. president.

She married George HW Bush in 1945. They had six children and have been married longer than any presidential couple in American history. Eight years after she and her husband left the White House Mrs. Bush stood with her husband as their son George W. was sworn in as president.

Abigail Adams, first lady from 1797 to 1801, was a major influence on husband John Adams, the nation's second president, but died before her son, John Quincy Adams, was elected president in 1824.

Mrs Bush's brown hair began to grey in the 1950s, while her three-year-old daughter Pauline, known to her family as Robin, underwent treatment for leukaemia and eventually died in October 1953. Mrs Bush later said dyed hair did not look good on her and credited her hair colour for helping create the public's perception of her as “everybody's grandmother.”

Her pearls sparked a national fashion trend when she wore them to her husband's inauguration in 1989. The pearls became synonymous with Mrs Bush, who later said she selected them to hide the wrinkles in her neck. The candid admission only bolstered her common-sense and down-to-earth public image.

Her 94-year-old husband also has had health issues in recent years. In April 2017, the nation's 41st president was sent to hospital in Houston for two weeks for a mild case of pneumonia and chronic bronchitis. He was in the hospital months earlier, also for pneumonia, spent time in 2015 at a hospital in Maine, where he and his wife have a summer home in Kennebunkport, after falling and breaking a bone in his neck. In Houston in December 2014, he was treated for shortness of breath and spent Christmas 2012 in intensive care for a bronchitis-related cough and other issues.

Mr Bush, who served as president from 1989 to 1993, has a form of Parkinson's disease and uses a motorised scooter or a wheelchair for mobility. He also served as a congressman, CIA director and Ronald Reagan's vice president.

Barbara Pierce Bush was born in Rye, New York. Her father was the publisher of McCall's and Redbook magazines. She married at age 19 while George Bush was a young naval aviator. After the Second World War, the Bushes moved to Texas where he went into the oil business.

Along with her memoirs, she's the author of C. Fred's Story and Millie's Book based on the lives of her dogs. Proceeds from the books benefited adult and family literacy programmes. The Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy began during her White House years with the goal of improving the lives of disadvantaged Americans by boosting literacy among parents and their children. The foundation partners with local programmes and has awarded more than $40 million to create or expand more than 1,500 literacy programmes nationwide.

Associated Press