George H.W. Bush to stay in hospital a third night

Despite having “another terrific day,” former President George H.W. Bush will spend a third night in a Texas hospital, his office announced on Christmas.

Bush, 90, is the nation’s oldest former president. His office said Tuesday night that he was taken to Houston Methodist Hospital “as a precaution” after experiencing shortness of breath.

The 41st president “is in great spirits” and wishes everyone a merry Christmas, his office said in a statement Thursday. He received visits from his wife, former first lady Barbara Bush, and from his son and daughter-in-law Neil and Maria Bush, it said.

This isn’t the first time Bush has been hospitalized over Christmas. In November 2012, he went to Houston Methodist with a persistent cough. He developed a fever and stayed nearly two months.

Last year, Barbara Bush was admitted to the same hospital on New Year’s Eve with signs of pneumonia. She was released after six days of treatment.

Bush – the father of former President George W. Bush and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, who is weighing a run for the presidency – made headlines in June when he celebrated his 90th birthday by skydiving. He marked his 75th, 80th and 85th birthdays the same way.