Jimmy Carter’s eldest grandchild has given an update on his health, more than a year after the former President entered hospice care.
Jason Carter, 48, told Southern Living last week that the Nobel Peace Prize winner, who at 99 is the oldest living U.S. president in history, is not awake every day but is “experiencing the world as best he can as he continues through his process” without late wife Rosalynn by his side.
The former First Lady, to whom Carter was married for nearly 80 years, died last November. She was 96.
“After 77 years of marriage… I just think none of us really understand what it’s like for him right now,” said Jason, who is one 22 grandchildren. “We have to embrace that fact, that there’s things about the spirit that you just can’t understand.”
Jason recalled a recent visit in which he admitted that he didn’t know how to characterize his grandfather’s condition when asked.
“And he kind of smiled and he said, ‘I don’t know, myself,’” said Jason. “It was pretty sweet.”
The 39th president entered hospice care at his Plains, Georgia home in February 2023, following a “series of short hospital stays,” the Carter Center said in a statement at the time.
In February of this year, Jason told “CBS Sunday Morning” that the family has “no expectations for his body.
“But we know that his spirit is as strong as ever.”
Carter was said to still “be at home with his family,” according to their statement obtained by CNN.
“The Carter Family is grateful for the many expressions of love they have received and the continued respect for their privacy during this time,” read the statement. “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.”
