George H.W. Bush and Barbara Bush hospitalized

HOUSTON — Former president George H.W. Bush has been hospitalized in Houston since the weekend, a Bush family spokesman said on Twitter on Wednesday.

The former president, 92, was admitted to Houston Methodist Hospital in the Texas Medical Center on Saturday for shortness of breath, said Jim McGrath.

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According to an updated statement from the 41st president's office that McGrath posted on Twitter on Wednesday afternoon, Bush was admitted to the intensive care unit at the hospital "to address an acute respiratory problem stemming from pneumonia."

The statement also said that Barbara Bush, 91, was admitted to the same hospital Wednesday morning "as a precaution after experiencing fatigue and coughing."

The former president had to be sedated for doctors to perform a procedure to clear his airway, the statement said.

"President Bush is stable and resting comfortably in the ICU, where he will remain for observation," the statement said.

Earlier Wednesday, Jean Becker, Bush's office chief of staff, told KHOU-TV in Houston that Bush was in stable condition and was "doing fine" and that they expected him home in a couple of days.

No update was provided on when Bush might be released.

Bush is the oldest living former U.S. president. In 2015, he spent a week in a Maine hospital after falling and breaking a bone in his neck. He suffers from a form of Parkinson's disease and uses a wheelchair to get around.

Despite the loss of mobility, Bush celebrated his 90th birthday by making a tandem parachute jump in Kennebunkport, Maine. Last summer, Bush led a group of 40 wounded warriors on a fishing trip at the helm of his speedboat, three days after his 92nd birthday celebration.

It had been previously announced that Bush and his wife were not expected attend the inauguration of Donald Trump as the 45th president because of health reasons.

Contributing: David M. Jackson, USA TODAY; The Associated Press. Follow KHOU-TV on Twitter: @KHOU