Carter closing in on his ‘remaining time’
waSHINgToN: Former US president Jimmy Carter has chosen against further medical treatment and will receive hospice care at home, where he will spend his “remaining time” after a series of recent hospital visits.
The 98-year-old, who led the US from 1977 to 1981, is the oldest living former president and a Nobel peace laureate.
“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,” the Carter Cenfrom, ter said in a statement.
In recent years, Carter has received various hospital treatments, including when he revealed in August 2015 that he had brain cancer and was undergoing radiation treatment -- an illness he recovered seemingly against the odds.
He lives with his wife, Rosalynn, in Plains, Georgia, the hamlet where he was born and worked as a peanut farmer.
He became the state’s governor and, as the Democratic presidential nominee, beat Gerald Ford in the 1976 poll.
During his presidency, 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, Republican challenger Ronald Reagan beat Carter at the polls, relegating him to a single term. Reagan swept into office on a wave of staunch conservatism.
As the years passed, a more nuanced image of Carter emerged, taking into account his post-presidential activities and reassessing his achievements.
He founded the Carter Center in 1982 to pursue his vision of world diplomacy, and he was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize for his tireless efforts to promote social and economic justice.
“The Carter family asks for privacy during this time and is grateful for the concern shown by his many admirers,” the Carter Center said.
“He has the full support of his family and his medical team,” it added.
Carter said basic Christian tenets such as justice and love served as the bedrock of his presidency, and the ex-president taught Sunday school at Maranatha Baptist, his church in Plains, well into his 90s.