The 98-year-old can no longer be treated and has opted for palliative care at home.
Former US President Jimmy Carter wants to spend the remaining time at home with his family following a series of hospital stays. The 98-year-old decided on palliative care at home instead of further medical steps, the foundation he founded announced on Saturday (local time). “He has the full support of his family and medical team,” it said.
At the same time, the Carter Center asked that privacy be respected. The Democratic politician from the southern state of Georgia was President of the United States from 1977 to 1981, when he was succeeded by Republican Ronald Reagan. He is the oldest living former president. His successors Reagan and George Bush died in 2004 and 2018 respectively. In 2002 Carter received the Nobel Peace Prize for his international services. He has been married to his wife Rosalynn (95) for 76 years. They have four children.
Carter’s health has deteriorated in recent months, the Washington Post and other US media reported. He now uses a wheelchair and his wife needs a walking aid. Grandson Jason Carter tweeted on Sunday: “I saw both of my grandparents yesterday. They are at peace and – as always – their house is full of love.” He now heads the board of directors of the foundation.
2015 suffering from liver cancer
Jimmy Carter announced in 2015 that he had liver cancer. Melanomas were also discovered in his brain. A year later he announced that he had overcome the disease. In November 2019, the former peanut farmer made it clear at a church service in his hometown of Plains that he faces death with serenity. “I didn’t ask God to let me live,” he said. “I asked God to give me an appropriate attitude towards death.”
In the past few weeks, Carter has asked for trips around his birthplace, Plains, US media reported. For his 98th birthday almost five months ago, the small town organized a parade for him. A week earlier, Carter and his wife were driven through the streets in a red convertible to celebrate the annual Peanut Festival.
Today’s President Joe Biden, who has repeatedly expressed his admiration for Carter, has been informed of the health of his fellow party member. The 80-year-old – also from the Democrats – is in close contact with the family, the broadcaster CNN reported.
1979 US Embassy Raid
Carter was the 39th President of the United States, but only for one term. He lost the 1980 presidential election to Reagan. The presidency of the trained peanut farmer and nuclear engineer from the southern state of Georgia began with hope: In September 1978, Egyptian President Anwar al-Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin signed two peace framework agreements – a sensational coup that Carter managed to pull off in tough secret negotiations at Camp David had threaded. Another success was the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty SALT II, which Carter and Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev signed in Vienna in June 1979.
But then the Islamic revolution in Iran, including the hostage crisis in Tehran, the invasion of the Soviet Union in Afghanistan, the economic crisis and the collapse of the dollar overshadowed his tenure. For 444 days, Iranian students held more than 50 Americans in their hands following a 1979 raid on the US embassy in Tehran. A liberation action by the military ended in a debacle.
In 1982, Carter founded his non-governmental organization, the Carter Center, which works, among other things, for peaceful conflict resolution around the world. In 2002 he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
In recent years, Carter has suffered from several health issues, including melanoma, which has spread to his liver and brain. He responded well to medical treatment. He declared himself cancer-free in 2015.
(APA/Archyde.com/dpa)