96 years old.

I just heard yesterday that she was "in hospice care" (like her husband) but later they said it was care at home.

So the announcement is sooner than I expected but not surprising. That's quite an age to achieve.

No matter how elderly a person is it's sad for family and friends to suffer the loss of a loved one.

I met her years ago. She was the epitome of a gracious, southern lady -- very genteel.

    
    
Vain attempts at humor aside, which is better, living long enough to feel the regret of being feeble and fairly useless or checking out early but strong? (Like Nelson Rockefeller?!!)

Is it better to burn out
Or just fate away.

(with anod to Neil Young's "Hey Hey My My [In To The Black]")

The Carters had a great marriage. I never saw anything but love and caring toward each other.

I'll bet he was by her side trying to care for her, and that was keeping him going. I wouldn't be surprised if he doesn't last much longer.

+1

Did it turn out that they both had dementia?

Of all the things, that is one of my biggest fears. I want to keep hold of my little grey cells. Please.

I thought she was the one with dementia. They were in their 90s so they both probably were declining mentally.

My mistake. I thought Prez Carter had dementia. I also took 'hospice' literally but I see now they were both at home. Fortunate for both & family too. Can't complain at the point someone reaches their '90s.

Hopice isn't a place, it's a "situation."

When one accepts hospice, one accepts that nothing more will be done to 'save' one's life, so no doctors visits for more exams, etc., no calling 9-1-1 when a bodily function goes wonky and no driving to the emergency room.

There's no more medical intervention in terms of what's going on with your body.

This is why my 'hospice' consists of walking off into the sunset...

Hospice care can be done in a special location, or it can be done at home (at least in the U.S.) If it is done at home, a visiting nurse can come to your house to assist you. It consists of comfort care only.

My understanding is that it was just Rosalynn with the dementia, but they are/were both on hospice.

...plus, he's 99 years old now.

I had heard she was on hospice a few days ago.

Married 77 years.

The medical reference is called palliative care.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/20/2023 03:52AM by GNPE.

I learned from reading a nurse's forum that if the doctor and medical team suggest palliative care only for a particular patient, then there is no hope of a meaningful recovery, and it's best to go with that. A lot of families authorize aggressive measures to try to keep their loved one alive far past the point of rationality. And sadly, sometimes it's just for the sake of the Social Security check.

If all religionists were as decent as the Carters I would very much support people being religious. Alas, the Carters stand out because they are very much the exception rather than the rule.


HH =)

His work on habitat for humanity was nothing short of awe inspiring and the mental health work that Rosealynn did was fantastic at the time.

Carter was an excellent ex-president. I do not think he was a good national leader, but after leaving the White House he and his wife lived exemplary lives.

Christianity would do better if it had more Jimmy and Rosalynn Carters.