andother family members in a Houston hospital after developing a fever
and weakness following a monthlong, bronchitis-like cough, his
spokesman said Monday. A hospital spokesman had said the 88-year-old
ex-president would be released in time to spend the holiday at home,
but that changed after Bush developed a fever.
'He's had a few setbacks. Late last week, he had a few low-energy days
followed by a low-grade fever,' Jim McGrath, Bush's spokesman in
Houston,told The Associated Press. 'Doctors still say they are
cautiously optimistic, but every time they get over one thing, another
thing pops up.' He said the cough that initially brought Bush to the
hospital on November 23 is now evident only about once a day, and the
fever appears to be under control, although doctors are still working
to get the right balance in Bush's medications. No discharge date has
been set. 'Given his current condition, doctors just want to hang on
to him,' McGrath said, adding that he didn't know what had caused the
fever.