--- description: Former President George H.W. Bush has had his breathing return to “normal,” though he remained in the hospital overnight. title: George H.W. Bush's Breathing Is 'Normal' image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt52a1169fffdc5e68/698777848e060151c0459764/459469704.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Presidents](/tag/presidents/) ## Presidents Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # George H.W. Bush's Breathing Returns to 'Normal'  by [Noah Rayman](/author/noah-rayman/)  ## Noah Rayman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 30, 2014 1:58 PM CUT  Former President George H.W. Bush attends a game between the Cincinnati Bengals and Houston Texans at NRG Stadium on November 23, 2014 in Houston, Texas. Former President George H.W. Bush attends a game between the Cincinnati Bengals and Houston Texans at NRG Stadium on November 23, 2014 in Houston, Texas.Bob Levey—Getty Images  by [Noah Rayman](/author/noah-rayman/)  ## Noah Rayman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 30, 2014 1:58 PM CUT Former President George H.W. Bush has had his [breathing return to “normal,”](https://twitter.com/jgm41/status/549667764718563329 "undefined") though he remained in the hospital overnight awaiting a final okay from his doctors, his spokesperson said Monday. “Both President and Mrs. Bush wish to thank everyone for their good wishes and prayers,” spokesman Jim McGrath said in a tweet. Bush, the oldest living President, was hospitalized last Tuesday as a precautionary measure after experiencing shortness of breath. He spent Christmas at the Houston Methodist Hospital, where he was in “great spirits.” The former President, who has a form of Parkinson’s disease and uses a wheelchair, recently celebrated his 90th birthday by [skydiving](http://www.politico.com/story/2014/06/george-hw-bush-90-birthday-skydiving-107773.html "undefined") under a red, white and blue parachute. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3649380/george-h-w-bush-breathing-health/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3649380/george-h-w-bush-breathing-health/"},"headline":"George H.W. Bush's Breathing Returns to 'Normal'","datePublished":"2014-12-30T13:58:28.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T03:10:51.927Z","description":"Bush Sr. spent Christmas in a Texas hospital.","url":"https://time.com/3649380/george-h-w-bush-breathing-health/","keywords":["Presidents","White House","George H.W. Bush"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt52a1169fffdc5e68/698777848e060151c0459764/459469704.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Noah Rayman","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/noah-rayman/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt52a1169fffdc5e68/698777848e060151c0459764/459469704.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Cincinnati Bengals v Houston Texans","caption":"Cincinnati Bengals v Houston Texans","creditText":"Bob Levey—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/presidents/","name":"Presidents"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3649380/george-h-w-bush-breathing-health/","name":"George H.W. Bush's Breathing Returns to 'Normal'"}}]}] ```