KENNEBUNKPORT — Former President George H.W. Bush remained hospitalized Monday, forcing him to miss a local Memorial Day parade that he traditionally attends.
The 93-year-old was taken to Southern Maine Health Care in Biddeford on Sunday after he experienced low blood pressure and fatigue.
James McGrath, the former president’s longtime spokesman, said Sunday that Bush was “awake, alert and not in any discomfort,” but would likely stay at the hospital for a couple of days for observation. There was no change in his status late Monday, McGrath said.
Earlier in the day, the former president sent a message from his official Twitter account about missing the parade.
“Very much regret missing the Memorial Day parade today in Kennebunkport, and am forever grateful not only to those patriots who made the ultimate sacrifice for our Nation – but also the Gold Star families whose heritage is imbued with their honor and heroism,” he wrote.
Residents who attended the parade in Kennebunkport, down the road from Bush’s summer home at Walker’s Point, expressed concern for the nation’s 41st president.
The event’s grand marshal, Tom Willey, mentioned Bush in his remarks, wishing him a speedy recovery.
“He’s such a figure at our parades. He was definitely missed,” said Shawn Hayes, vice commander of American Legion Post 159.
Bush has spent every summer since childhood in Kennebunkport, except when he was a naval aviator during World War II. He arrived for the summer this year on May 20 without his wife of 73 years, Barbara Bush, who died in April in Houston.
The former president had been admitted to Houston Methodist Hospital on April 22, the day after his wife’s funeral, where he was treated for an infection that spread to his blood. He was hospitalized for 13 days.
Bush has a form of Parkinson’s disease and a history of pneumonia and other infections. He uses a wheelchair.
McGrath said Bush’s daughter Dorothy “Doro” Bush Koch, who is in Maine for the summer, was with her father in the hospital Sunday.
On Saturday, Bush attended a pancake breakfast at the American Legion hall in Kennebunkport. His former national security adviser, retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Brent Scowcroft, joined them.
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