United States

Former President Jimmy Carter Released From Hospital, Plans to Teach Sunday School This Weekend

Carter was on his way to go turkey hunting when he fell and broke his hip

Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter was released from a Georgia hospital Thursday and will continue to recuperate at home, according to the Carter Center. 

Carter underwent hip replacement surgery after breaking his hip Monday when he fell while leaving his home in Plains to go turkey hunting.

Carter was released from Phoebe Sumter Medical Center in Americus, Georgia, Thursday morning, Carter Center spokeswoman Deanna Congileo said.

Carter's wife of 73 years, Rosalynn, had been admitted to the hospital overnight for observation and testing after feeling faint. She left with her husband in the morning, Congileo said.

Jimmy Carter will undergo physical therapy and plans to resume teaching Sunday school this weekend, Congileo said. A devout Christian, Carter regularly teaches at Maranatha Baptist Church, drawing hundreds of visitors to Plains for each session. 

"Both President and Mrs. Carter extend their thanks to the many people who sent well wishes the past few days," Congileo's statement said.

In March, Carter became the longest-living chief executive in U.S. history, exceeding the lifespan of former President George H.W. Bush, who died Nov. 30 at the age of 94 years, 171 days.

The milestone came despite a cancer diagnosis more than three years earlier. Carter disclosed in 2015 that he had melanoma that had spread to his liver and brain. He received treatment for seven months until scans showed no sign of the disease.

"I've had a wonderful life," he said at the time he revealed the cancer. "I've had thousands of friends, I've had an exciting, adventurous and gratifying existence."

Carter's legacy since leaving office has long overshadowed his rocky White House tenure, where he lost after one term amid a hostage crisis. He and Rosalynn founded the Carter Center in Atlanta in 1982 to focus on global human rights issues.

The center has monitored elections around the world and worked to resolve conflicts and eradicate disease, including guinea worm.

The former president and first lady still live in Plains, a town of about 750 where they were born, raised and married.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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