SURROUNDED BY LOVE: Jimmy Carter, 98, will spend final days in hospice care with family and loved ones
ATLANTA, GEORGIA: Former President Jimmy Carter, who at 98 is the longest-living US president, has opted for hospice care in lieu of "further medical intervention." This comes after the 39th US President had a series of brief hospitalizations at his home in Georgia, the Carter Center announced Saturday, February 18.
“After a series of short hospital stays, former US President Jimmy Carter today decided to spend his remaining time at home with his family and receive hospice care instead of additional medical intervention. He has the full support of his family and his medical team. The Carter family asks for privacy during this time and is grateful for the concern shown by hhis many admirers,” Carter Center's announcement read.
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https://t.co/1auzIG0yqy pic.twitter.com/JJQMWgg8DW
— The Carter Center (@CarterCenter) February 18, 2023
Why did Jimmy Carter choose hospice care?
The former president, whose tumultuous term ended in 1981, has struggled recently with serious health problems. In August 2015, Carter underwent surgery to remove a tumor from his liver. Later that month, he announced at a press conference that medical experts had discovered a melanoma, or "four very small spots," on his brain. He added that he was "perfectly at ease with whatever comes" and had lived "a wonderful life." After several months of treatment, doctors declared Carter cancer-free.
Carter had overcome the brain tumor in 2015, but in 2019 he had a series of health problems that led to surgery to relieve pressure on his brain, and he had to be hospitalized again for a pelvic fracture after a fall at home. He had taught Sunday school for decades at Maranatha Baptist Church in his hometown of Plains, Georgia, but health problems forced him to quit. After a series of short hospital stays, Carter decided to spend his remaining time in hospice care at home.
The former president's grandson, Jason Carter, a former Democratic state senator from Georgia, tweeted of his grandparents on Friday, February 17, that "they are at peace and - as always - their home is full of love," per reports from New York Post.
I saw both of my grandparents yesterday. They are at peace and—as always—their home is full of love. Thank you all for your kind words https://t.co/9rhG61sZEV
— Jason Carter (@SenatorCarter) February 18, 2023
Jimmy Carter's career
Carter was born and raised in Plains, Georgia. He joined the US Navy in 1946 and served on submarines. He left the military in 1953 and moved back to Georgia to run his family's peanut farm. Early in his political career, he emerged as an activist Democrat, supporting the burgeoning civil rights movement and speaking out against segregation. Carter served in the Georgia Senate from 1963 to 1967 before being elected governor in 1970.
Carter unexpectedly won the Democratic presidential nomination in 1976 and the presidency later that year as an outsider candidate after conceding the governorship in 1975. Carter defeated Ford 297 to 241 electoral votes and won the White House. He served as the 39th president from 1977 to 1981. Carter was succeeded by Ronald Reagan.
Carter later claimed that the Allman Brothers Band had supported his run for the presidency. Carter's campaign was $300,000 in debt when the band contributed $64,000, enabling him to double that amount with matching state funds. “Gregg Allman and the Allman Brothers just about put me in the White House,” he said in 2015.
In 2002, Carter received the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to end international conflicts through negotiations, promote democracy and human rights, and foster social and economic progress. His steadfastness in the Baptist faith is widely known.