Jimmy Carter marks a full year in hospice care Sunday, a period in which the former US president defied the odds, celebrated his 99th birthday and mourned the death of his wife of 77 years, Rosalynn.
“One year after entering hospice care, president Carter continues to be at home with his family,” the Carter Center said in a statement to US media, noting the anniversary of his decision to decline further hospital treatment for various health issues and live out his days at home in Plains, Georgia.
“The Carter family is grateful for the many expressions of love they have received and the continued respect for their privacy during this time,” the family said, according to his non-profit foundation.
“The family is pleased that his decision last year to enter hospice care has sparked so many family discussions across the country on an important subject.”
Carter, a Nobel peace laureate, champion of charitable causes and a former peanut farmer, is the longest living president in US history. The Carters’ marriage is longer than that of any other president, eclipsing the 73 years of George H.W. Bush and his wife, Barbara.
Having already beaten brain cancer in his 90s, and suffering other ailments that required hospitalization, Carter was thought to be in his waning days in February 2023 when the Carter Center announced he would spend his “remaining time” in hospice, at home with family.
Read the full article here
