According to a statement released by the Carter family on Tuesday, May 30, former first lady Rosalynn Carter has been diagnosed with dementia but “continues to live happily at home with her husband.”
The Statement
The news comes three months after it was revealed Jimmy Carter had joined a Plains, Georgia, hospice.
“The Carter family is sharing that former First Lady Rosalynn Carter has dementia. She continues to live happily at home with her husband, enjoying spring in Plains and visits with loved ones,” the center reported.
Family members said they hoped Rosalynn’s diagnosis would spur discussions about dementia at dinner tables and doctor’s offices alike, fighting the stigma that can prevent people from seeking treatment.
Rosalynn has long been an advocate for mental health issues.
“As the founder of the Rosalynn Carter Institute for Caregivers, Mrs. Carter often noted that there are only four kinds of people in this world: those who have been caregivers, those who are currently caregivers, those who will be caregivers, and those who will need caregivers. The universality of caregiving is clear in our family, and we are experiencing the joy and the challenges of this journey,” read the statement.
The First Lady
As her husband ran for president in 1976, Rosalynn Carter, then 49, made her way onto the public scene. She actively participated in his campaign, making separate trips around the nation to spread the word about her husband and why she thought he was the finest candidate to lead the country.
As per Wusa9, Rosalynn participated on the Governor’s Commission to Improve Services to the Mentally and Emotionally Handicapped and visited mental health facilities around the state as Georgia’s first lady when her husband was elected governor in 1970.
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