Jimmy Carter approaches 16 months in hospice care

Here is Meghan Overdeep at Southern Living:

As Jimmy Carter nears his 16th month in hospice care at his home in Plains, Georgia, his grandson, Jason Carter, says there’s “really been no change” in the former president’s condition. 

Jason, 48, the oldest of Jimmy and Rosalynn’s 22 grandchildren, told Southern Living Wednesday that the 99 year old is simply “experiencing the world as best he can as he continues through this process” without his wife of 77 years by his side. 

“After 77 years of marriage… I just think none of us really understand what it’s like for him right now,” Jason says. “We have to embrace that fact, that there’s things about the spirit that you just can’t understand.” 

At this point, Jimmy isn’t awake every day. Jason says his aunt and uncles visit frequently, though they never know what kind of day their father is going to have.

A few weeks ago, Jason made the three-and-a-half hour drive from Atlanta to Plains for a visit with his grandfather. He says they watched the Braves game, talked about The Carter Center, and the family. He also asked the living legend how he’s doing.

“I told him, I said: ‘Pawpaw, you know, when people ask me how you’re doing I say, ‘honestly I don’t know,’” Jason recalls. “And he kind of smiled and he said ‘I don’t know, myself.’” 

“It was pretty sweet,” he says.

Read the rest here.