Former First Lady Rosalynn Carter is recovering at Emory University Hospital after a successful surgery Sunday, according to a statement sent by The Carter Center.
She had scar tissue removed from a portion of her small intestine caused by removal of a cyst many years ago and she is expected to stay at Emory a few days, spokeswoman Deanna Congileo said in the statement.
The former first lady known for spearheading passage of the game-changing Mental Health Systems Act of 1980 turned 90 last August.
In an exclusive interview with the AJC, Rosalynn Carter reflected on her "great life" and recalled the first birthday she spent in the White House.
“I turned 50, and I thought that was really bad,” she said with a soft chuckle in her office at The Carter Center in Atlanta. If she could go back in time now and talk to that younger version of herself, she said, she’d be able to reassure her: “You can have a full life after 50.”
The surgery comes during a busy time for the former first lady and her husband. Both Carters were scheduled to celebrate Presidents Day on Monday morning at a free public event held at Plains High School. Jimmy Carter is still expected to be at that event. And despite recently announcing that he would begin to cut back on his Sunday School teaching schedule at Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains, the former president was supposed to teach there this Sunday.
While he didn’t teach this week, he did arrive near the end of the 10 a.m. class, which was taught by his niece, Kim Fuller. Carter attended the 11 a.m. service and posed for photos afterwards with visitors to the Sunday School class, said Maranatha member Jill Stuckey.
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