Bob Hope had good vital signs and a hearty handshake Friday morning after a bout of gastrointestinal bleeding that hospitalized him in critical but stable condition, his doctor said. “Overnight, he’s been very stable. There have been no new events. His vital signs are good. He’s strong,” Dr. Gary Annunziata added during a news conference outside Eisenhower Regional Medical Center in Rancho Mirage, Calif. The 97-year-old entertainer did receive blood transfusions before the bleeding in his colon was stopped, but there was no surgery, Annunziata said. All doctors can do now is observe and support, and 90 percent of people recover from this type of problem. “They just get better naturally,” the doctor said. The ailment is not unusual in elderly people and is not life-threatening, Annunziata added. The entertainer’s wife, Dolores, and daughter were with him. “Both Mrs. Hope and daughter Linda are very optimistic and ask that everyone simply keep Bob in their prayers,” hospital spokeswoman Lea Goodsell said. Hope was in the critical-care section, described as one step down from intensive care. He was expected to be transferred out of there in a day or so but will remain hospitalized for a week because of his age.
