Former President George H.W. Bush Falls, Breaks Neck At Maine Home

George H.W. Bush, the oldest living former U.S. president, fell at his summer home on Wednesday and broke a bone in his neck but is stable and doing well, a spokesman said. He is 91 years old and was at his Maine summer home when the fall occurred, causing him to break a bone in his neck. Fortunately, he is without any disability or paralysis, and is doing “quite well,” but will need to be in a neck brace for an undisclosed period of time, according to his spokesperson, Jim McGrath. McGrath also tweeted that the 41st president of the United States was stable at this time.

The fall may have been partially caused by former President Bush’s fight with Parkinson’s Disease, a disease that causes people to become unsteady and ataxic, or have difficulty walking. He normally uses a motorized scooter or wheelchair to get around, but transfers from bed to wheelchair can be tricky, as can other transfers. Parkinson’s also leaves the former president vulnerable to other maladies, including a case of pneumonia in in December, in which he praised doctors and nurses for their “excellent care.” Prior to that, he was hospitalized for approximately two months from December 2012 to January 2013 with a respiratory illness that he eventually improved from.

Bush, a staunch Republican and father of former president George W. Bush, has prided himself on his independence and commitment to live life. He lives with his wife, Barbara, in Texas during the winter months, but retreats to the milder Maine for the summer. He has been known to do miraculous things given his age and health problems, including making a tandem parachute jump on his 90th birthday in Maine with no ill effects. He spent his 91st birthday in Maine as well, a small celebration with family that did not include parachute-jumping.

George H.W. Bush is generally regarded as a good president. He served two terms as Ronald Reagan’s vice president before being elected president in 1988. After one term, which included the success of the 1991 Gulf War in Kuwait, he lost to Democrat Bill Clinton, largely due to voters’ concerns about the economy. He has been known as a kind man of solid Christian faith and has lived a low-key life in Houston since 1992 while he watched his son take on the presidency. Another son, Jeb Bush, is running for the Republican candidacy for President for 2016. While the elder Bush has troubling medical conditions, no doubt he feels he has much to live for. The Inquisitr staff wishes former president George H.W. Bush a speedy recovery.

[photo by katu]