Bush says he has recovered well from heart surgery

IRVINE, Texas, Sept. 27 (UPI) -- Former President George W. Bush said his health is good following heart surgery during a TV interview at a golf tournament in Texas honoring wounded veterans.

The operation last month unblocked an artery. Bush in an interview with ABC News joked about his medication.

"Other than the fact I nearly bled to death when I nicked myself shaving, because I'm taking blood thinners, I'm doing pretty good," he said. "I thought you were going have to put a tourniquet on me."

The third annual Warrior Open golf tournament ends Saturday in Irvine, Texas. The competitors are 24 veterans wounded in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Capt. Matt Anderson, who took up golf after his leg was mangled by a land mine in Afghanistan, said Bush's support means a lot. Anderson recently decided to have the leg amputated.

"To have the full backing by the commander-in-chief, it's our little Super Bowl every year," he said.

Bush said he is also enjoying being a grandfather. His daughter, Jenna Hager, gave birth to Margaret Laura "Mila" Hager in April.

"It's a joy to watch Jenna mother her. It's a joy to watch Laura be a great grandmother. And, you know, I was telling Laura the other day, I can't wait to be able to take Mila around the ranch and answer all her questions about the trees and the animals and the grasses," he said.