Former President Jimmy Carter admitted to hospital for brain surgery

The former president has had multiple falls in recent months.

November 12, 2019, 10:33 AM

Former President Jimmy Carter is recovering in the hospital following surgery to relieve pressure on his brain, caused by bleeding due to his recent falls.

Carter, the oldest living ex-president in U.S. history, underwent surgery at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta on Tuesday morning and he "will remain in the hospital as long as advisable for observation," according to a statement from the Carter Center, which the former head of state founded in 1982.

The procedure was done to relieve pressure on his brain from a subdural hematoma, a serious condition -- usually caused by a head injury -- where blood collects between the skull and the surface of the brain.

"There are no complications from the surgery," the Carter Center said in the statement Tuesday.

Carter, 95, was admitted to the hospital on Monday evening ahead of the procedure. A family spokesperson had said he was "resting comfortably, and his wife, Rosalynn, is with him."

He was recently hospitalized after fracturing his pelvis on Oct. 21. -- the most recent of three falls this year.

PHOTO: Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter teaches Sunday school at Maranatha Baptist Church, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2019, in Plains, Ga.
Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter teaches Sunday school at Maranatha Baptist Church, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2019, in Plains, Ga.
John Amis/AP

Carter had to get stitches above his brow after falling at his ranch house in rural Plains, Georgia, on Oct. 6. And in May, he underwent surgery after falling and breaking his hip while he was leaving to go turkey hunting.

The nation's 39th president made headlines earlier this month when he opened up about being "at ease with death" during a Sunday school service near his home in Georgia.

"I assumed naturally that I was going to die very quickly," said Carter, referring to his cancer diagnosis in 2015. "I said a prayer about it; I didn't ask God to let me live, I found that I was absolutely and completely at ease with death."

    During Sunday’s service he said his only concern about dying was missing his family and loved ones, but said that he realized, as a Christian, he would see them again.

    Carter was elected president in 1976, defeating Republican Gerald Ford, but served just one term before his loss to Ronald Reagan in 1980. Since his presidency, he's dedicated himself to charitable causes, such as Habitat for Humanity.

    ABC News' Janice McDonald, Darren Reynolds, Matthew Vann and Morgan Winsor contributed to this report.

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