Rosalynn Carter, former U.S. first lady, suffers from dementia
Former U.S. first lady Rosalynn Carter diagnosed with dementia at age 95the family said in a statement released by the Carter Center.
“The Carter family shares that former first lady Rosalynn Carter has dementia. She continues to live happily at home with her husband, enjoying the spring in Plains and visiting loved ones,” the text notes.
Wife of Jimmy Carter and first lady of the United States between 1977 and 1981.Rosalynn Carter has devoted much of her life to being an advocate for the nation’s mental health.
As such urged “improving access to care and decreasing stigma about mental health-related problems.”The statement signed by the Carter family, which recalls that one in 10 older Americans has dementia, notes.
“We recognize, as she did more than half a century ago, that stigma is often a barrier that prevents individuals and their families from seeking and getting the support they so desperately need,” the text adds.
As founder of the Rosalynn Carter Institute for Caregivers, the former first lady used to say that there is. four types of people in this world: those who have been caregivers, those who are currently caregivers, those who will be caregivers in the future, and those who will need caregiving.
“The universality of caregiving is clear in our family and we are experiencing the joy and challenges of this journey. We look forward to making no further comment and ask for understanding for our family and for everyone across the country who plays a caregiving role,” the text concluded.
From the White House, presidential spokeswoman Karine-Jean Pierre stressed in her daily press briefing that the president, Joe Biden, and his wife, Jill, have been in contact with Jimmy Carter’s team to make sure his family knows that both the former president and the former first lady are in their thoughts.
Her husband’s delicate health
On February 18, it became known that Jimmy Carter, 98, had decided to begin receiving palliative care. at home in lieu of medical interventions after a series of hospital admissions.
Born in Plains, in the state of Georgia, he turned 98 years old last October 1 and is. the longest-serving former U.S. president in the history of the country..
Also born in Plains in 1927, Rosalynn Carter attended her first school in her hometown school, where she met the man who would later become her husband through a mutual friend.
She continued her education at the Western College of Americus (Georgia) from which she graduated in 1946, also the year in which. married Carterto whom four children were born.
From 1962 she decided to accompany her husband in his political career.first as senator for Georgia, then as governor of that state (1971-1974) and finally in his accession to the presidency of the United States.
As first lady she exercised a relevant role as honorary chairwoman of the Mental Health Commission which she defended before the U.S. Congress in May 1979.
After leaving the White House, she created the Carter Center for Mental Health with her husband.which she later directed, and since 1984 she has participated through the Carter Habitat for Humanity Project in the reconstruction of housing for the most needy in regions such as Haiti and Latin America.
In 1987 created the Rosalynn Carter Institute for Caregiving (RCI) at Georgia Southwestern State University.
This facet has earned her numerous distinctions such as the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest American civilian decoration, which she received in 1999.
