George H.W. Bush, the oldest living former U.S. president, fell at his summer home and broke a bone in his neck, a spokesman said. Bush, 91, was hospitalized and now is in stable condition and was doing "fine" after the fall, spokesman Jim McGrath said. McGrath tweeted that the 41st president would be in a neck brace.

A tweet posted by Jim McGrath said that the former president who is referred to as “41”, denoting his status as the 41st holder of the office, had fallen at his home in Kennebunkport, Maine.

Bush was being treated at Maine Medical Center in Portland, where a children's hospital is named on his wife, Barbara. The medical center has confirmed that his condition is stable, but said it is premature to speculate about when he'll be released. It said that Bush will be there for at least an overnight.

In 2012, he has spent nearly two months, including Christmas, at the same Houston hospital for treatment of a bronchitis-related cough and other issues.

Bush, has a form of Parkinson's disease, which has forced him to use a motorized scooter or wheelchair for mobility. He has suffered a few other health setbacks recently. He was hospitalized in Houston in December for the treatment of shortness of breath. He said that he was grateful to the doctors and nurses for their care there.

Bush, father of Republican former President George W. Bush, was a naval aviator in the World War II and was shot down over the Pacific. He was also a former U.S. ambassador to China and CIA director. Another son of Bush, Republican, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, is running for president in 2016.

Last week, Bush attended the fundraising events in Maine with donors backing his son Jeb Bush’s campaign to win the Republican presidential nomination. After Jeb Bush declared his intention to run, hoping to be the third of the Bush clan in the White House after his father and brother, George W Bush. Bush Snr said he was one of the “proudest parents in America”.

Bush, himself a Republican served two terms as Ronald Reagan’s vice president before being elected president in 1988. Even when highlighted by the success of the 1991 Gulf War in Kuwait, he lost to Democrat Bill Clinton amid voters’ concerns about the economy.

He had skydived at least three times on his birthdays, since leaving the White House. He has celebrated his 90th birthday by making a parachute jump near his summer home in Kennebunkport.

By Premji