Former First lady Barbara Bush is reportedly in a good condition after she underwent surgery to repair and seal a perforated ulcer. The operation was performed on Tuesday night.  

"She is up in a chair. She's very vigorous. She is in charge," said Dr. Patrick Reardon. "The first thing she did when her lips worked was to tell a joke."

The 83-year-old former First Lady was hospitalized at the Methodist Hospital in Houston, Texas, Tuesday night. She was suffering severe abdominal pain, “many times worse than childbirth," the doctor said.

Barbara Bush did not know what was causing the pain, but she was sure it was something serious. After being hospitalized, the medical staff examined her and carried out some diagnostic tests. They determined that she had a perforated ulcer in her duodenum, the first portion of the small intestine after the stomach.

The operation included mainly a cleaning of the abdominal cavity, the reparation of the ulcer and the sewing of the cavity using a piece of omentum which is living fat tissue found in the abdomen, Dr. Reardon said. The former First Lady remained in the hospital’s intensive care unit Wednesday and she’ll remain there for one ore two more days.

Barbara Bush will spend the next week in the hospital and she won’t be able to have any food through her mouth, her doctor said.  

“During the procedure last night, surgeons cleansed her abdominal area, then patched and closed a one-centimeter hole in Mrs. Bush's stomach, caused by the ulcer. Mrs. Bush is expected to be discharged from the hospital next week," read a statement issued by the hospital.