COLUMBA BUSH TELLS OF HEARTBREAK OVER DAUGHTER'S PROBLEM

ORLANDO -- Florida first lady Columba Bush told high school students at a
drug prevention conference Tuesday that her "heart is broken" over her only
daughter's addiction to illegal substances.

"My heart is broken because my daughter has a problem," Bush told the
students at the Florida Statewide Drug Prevention Conference in Orlando.

Her daughter, Noelle Bush, is undergoing treatment at a drug rehabilitation
center a few miles from where the conference was being held.

Last month, Noelle Bush was jailed for 10 days for violating the terms of
her treatment program. She was ordered to attend drug treatment after she
was arrested in January for allegedly trying to use a fraudulent prescription.

"Today I'm not going to make a speech -- I'm just going to tell you the
story of my life," Columba Bush began her address to the students. Bush
recounted how she met Jeb Bush, Florida's future governor, when she was 16
and living in central Mexico. She talked about how they fell in love,
married and how she moved to the United States and put aside her
aspirations to be an artist in Mexico City.

When her father-in-law decided to run for president, Jeb Bush planned to
help him campaign while Columba Bush took care of their children.

"I thought 'What do I do now?' My husband is gone and I would have to take
care of my two babies, and be campaigning and do all these things that I
had never imagined that I would do," she said.

Bush talked about having met heads of state, kings and queens. But she said
no amount of privilege can keep away the pain of a loved one's drug
addiction. For that reason, she said she has been championing drug
prevention programs for eight years.

"The minute I realized that my daughter faced the same temptations that
most of the children face each day, I decided to devote my life to this
cause," she said.

Students attending the conference said they were impressed with Bush's
openness.

"That took a lot of courage," said LeLe Chen, a junior at Miami Palmetto
Senior High.

Natalie Wethington, a sophomore at Pedro Menendez High School in St. Johns
County, said the personal story hit home with students.

"The fact that it could happen to someone so high up means a lot to
students," she said.