Former US first lady Barbara Bush leaves hospital

Former first lady Barbara Bush went home Saturday after six days in hospital for pneumonia, a statement from the office of her husband, former president George H.W. Bush, said. The 88-year-old thanked the doctors and nurses at the Texas hospital where she was admitted "for making sure I got the best treatment and got back to George and our dogs as quickly as possible," the brief statement said. It did not offer further details about her condition or any follow-up care. Bush was first lady from 1989 to 1993. She is also the mother of former president George W. Bush, who was in the White House between 2001 and 2009. After being admitted to Texas's Houston Methodist Hospital on December 30, she received public messages of support and wishes for a speedy recovery from President Barack Obama and former president Bill Clinton. Barbara Bush was admitted to the same hospital in 2008 and underwent surgery for a perforated ulcer. The following year she had open-heart surgery due to narrowing of her main heart valve. In 2010, she received treatment for a mild relapse of Graves' disease, a thyroid condition for which she was treated in 1989.