Jimmy Carter is in the hospital for a procedure to 'relieve pressure on his brain' after recent falls

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Former President Jimmy Carter was admitted to Emory University Hospital in Atlanta on Monday evening to prepare for a Tuesday morning operation to "relieve pressure on his brain, caused by bleeding due to his recent falls," the Carter Center said in a statement. Carter, who recently turned 95, is the oldest living ex-president ever. He has fallen at least three times this year, including one tumble that required a hip replacement in the spring and a pelvis fracture on Oct. 21. In 2015, Carter was diagnosed with brain cancer and then declared cancer-free.

In between health scares, Carter had been building houses with Habitat for Humanity and teaching Sunday school at Maranatha Baptist Church in his hometown of Plains, Georgia. "We just need the whole country to be in prayer for him," Carter's pastor, Rev. Tony Lowden, told The Associated Press.

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.