Former first lady Rosalynn Carter diagnosed with dementia
Former first lady Rosalynn Carter has been diagnosed with dementia, the Carter Center announced Tuesday, more than three months after her husband, former president Jimmy Carter, said he was spending his final days in hospice care.
In a news release, the Carter Center said that Rosalynn Carter, 95, was comfortable and spending time with her 98-year-old husband at home in Plains, Georgia.
“She continues to live happily at home with her husband, enjoying spring in Plains and visits with loved ones,” the organization said in a statement.
Carter, who was hailed by the organization as “the nation’s leading mental health advocate for much of her life,” has frequently talked about caregiving before, during and after her time with her husband in the White House.
“The universality of caregiving is clear in our family, and we are experiencing the joy and the challenges of this journey,” the Carter Center said. “We do not expect to comment further and ask for understanding for our family and for everyone across the country serving in a caregiver role.”
Her husband announced in February that he would be in home hospice care after a series of brief hospital stays. No illness was disclosed. The 39th president has overcome serious health problems, including in 2015 when he was diagnosed with melanoma that had spread to his liver and brain. Doctors said he defied the odds, and Carter announced later that year that he was cancer-free following treatment.
Friends and associates have said the health of Rosalynn and Jimmy Carter, who were in the White House between 1977 to 1981, has been in gradual decline in recent months. She uses a walker to get around, while he uses a wheelchair. But the couple has remained in good spirits during a stretch in which many have given public tributes to the former president.
“They’re just meeting with family right now, but they’re doing it in the best possible way: the two of them together at home,” grandson Jason Carter told the Associated Press
We recognize, as she did more than half a century ago, that stigma is often a barrier that keeps individuals and their families from seeking and getting much-needed support. We hope sharing our family’s news will increase important conversations at kitchen tables and in doctor’s offices around the country.
We recognize, as she did more than half a century ago, that stigma is often a barrier that keeps individuals and their families from seeking and getting much-needed support. We hope sharing our family’s news will increase important conversations at kitchen tables and in doctor’s offices around the country.