Family Spokesman Gives Update on George H.W. Bush's Health

(CBS NEWS) After time in the intensive care unit of a Texas hospital, former President George H.W. Bush’s health is improving, according to family spokesperson.

 “The news is good—all the prayers and good wishes are having a good effect,” Jim McGrath told CBS News Thursday, giving an update on the health of Bush and his wife Barbara. “They both got a good night’s sleep and are on the upswing.” 

“Yesterday was not a good day, but they have bounced back,” he added, noting that “right now things are pointing up.”

The 41st president will not be attending the Friday inauguration of Donald Trump, but his son and 43rd U.S. president George W. Bush is still slated to attend. 

Bush has been in intensive care at Houston Methodist Hospital, where he’s been fighting off an “acute respiratory problem stemming from pneumonia,” CBS News’ Omar Villafranca reported. He also suffers from vascular parkinsonism, a rare syndrome that mimics Parkinson’s disease. The 92-year-old Bush also broke a vertebra in 2015 and has used a motorized scooter or a wheelchair in recent years. 

 Doctors intubated the 41st president on Wednesday for a procedure to protect and clear his airway.

His wife, 91-year-old Barbara Bush, is also in the hospital with bronchitis. She is not in the ICU.

This is the former president’s fourth hospital stay in five years, but McGrath says he is a fighter. “It’s a serious situation,” he said. “He’s 92. He has pneumonia. He’s in the ICU. But again, you don’t bet against George Bush.”

Here are some answers to common questions about the former president’s health:

What are the risks of pneumonia? 

Pneumonia is an infection of the lungs that can be mild or severe. Elderly patients are at risk of deadly complications.

The former president wrote to President-elect Donald Trump on Jan. 10, saying that he would be unable to attend Friday’s inauguration because of doctor’s orders: “My doctor says if I sit outside in January, it will likely put me six feet under. Same for Barbara. So I guess we’re stuck in Texas.”

What is vascular parkinsonism?

People diagnosed with the condition walk with shuffling steps, and brain scans suggest they have suffered small strokes. However, they do not have the characteristic tremors of Parkinson’s disease, and they do not respond to drugs for Parkinson’s.

“They look like Parkinson’s from the waist down. From the waist up, they look very expressive,” said Dr. Alberto Espay of the University of Cincinnati’s Gardner Neuroscience Institute.

Is it different from Parkinson’s disease?

Yes. It does not get steadily worse in the same way Parkinson’s does. Classic Parkinson’s disease develops when cells that produce one of the brain’s chemical messengers, called dopamine, begin to deteriorate and die. Dopamine transports signals to parts of the brain that control movement. Parkinson’s symptoms appear after enough dopamine-producing cells die that there’s too little of this neurotransmitter in the brain.

Vascular parkinsonism can closely mimic a number of other disorders, including classic Parkinson’s, progressive supranuclear palsy and excessive fluid on the brain.

What has President Bush said about the condition?

In a 2012 interview with Parade magazine, Bush said: “It just affects the legs. It’s not painful. You tell your legs to move and they don’t move. It’s strange, but if you have to have some bad-sounding disease, this is a good one to get.”

Bush said the symptoms have been difficult for him, “because I love being active, (playing) sports, being in the game. But you just face the reality and make the best of it.”