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Day after fainting, elder Bush on stage
2007-03-13
Former President George H.W. Bush was in good spirits as he gave a speech Monday night, a day after being overcome by the sweltering desert heat and staying overnight at a Southern California hospital. Bush walked with a cane onstage at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion and joked with the crowd before beginning his lecture on values. He recalled feeling tired while playing golf with some friends Sunday afternoon. "The next thing I know, I fainted," Bush said, adding he wasn't happy with what happened next. "The ugliest part of what happened was that my (male) friend ... gave me mouth-to-mouth resuscitation," Bush said with a smile. The crowd roared with laughter, prompting the 82-year-old to add "there were six beautiful girls there." Bush and former first lady Barbara Bush were in Southern California visiting Lee Annenberg, widow of late Ambassador Walter Annenberg, when he became dizzy and dehydrated during the afternoon golf game. He stayed overnight at Eisenhower Medical Center in Rancho Mirage and was released early Monday. "He's fine, he really is fine," Bush's chief of staff Jean Becker said, adding the temperature outside was 94 degrees. "He became dehydrated, and he had a fainting spell. He came to right away, but as a precaution, they took him to the hospital and then -- much to his dismay -- as a precaution, they held him overnight." Bush was expected to return to Houston after Monday's speech. President Bush was informed of his father's condition Sunday night, before leaving Bogota, Colombia, for Guatemala City as part of a Latin America trip. He talked to his father by phone from Air Force One. "His father assured him he was OK," presidential spokesman Tony Snow said Monday. Golfing in the Coachella Valley heat felled another former president in 2003. Gerald R. Ford was 89 years old when he became dizzy during a round of golf in 96-degree weather and he was taken to Eisenhower for examination. ___ Associated Press writer Joe Stinebaker in Houston contributed to this report.
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