Former United States President Jimmy Carter has marked one year of being in hospice care. Mr Carter, who turned 99 in October 2023, entered hospice care on February 18, 2023, as per a report in the New York Post.
The family spoke to USA Today and said in a statement, “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 is pleased that his decision last year to enter hospice care has sparked so many family discussions across the country on an important subject.”
His nonprofit foundation the Carter Center had said in a statement in 2023 that he would spend his "remaining time” in hospice care. "After a series of short hospital stays, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter today decided to spend his remaining time at home with his family and receive hospice care instead of additional medical intervention," the Carter Center said on X.
During his presidency, Jimmy Carter placed a commitment on human rights and social justice, enjoying a strong first two years which included brokering a peace deal between Israel and Egypt dubbed the Camp David Accords. But his administration hit numerous snags -- the most serious being the taking of US hostages in Iran and the disastrous failed attempt to rescue the 52 captive Americans in 1980.
In November of that year, he was relegated to serve only a single term when he was defeated in elections by Republican challenger Ronald Reagan, who swept into office on a wave of staunch social conservatism.
As per the outlet, the 39th US President was diagnosed with cancer in early 2015. In the same year, he announced he was cancer-free.
Meanwhile, his wife, former US First Lady Rosalynn Carter, died at age 96 at the couple's home in the southern state of Georgia in November last year. She had joined her husband in at-home hospice care on Friday after being diagnosed with dementia in May.
Rosalynn Carter was best known for her work post-White House, as she and her husband championed human rights, democracy and health issues around the world - all while maintaining a notably humble public image.
