Jimmy Carter’s youngest son Jeff has been quietly living with Parkinson’s disease.
The 72-year-old has kept his condition out of the public eye until it was confirmed by People Magazine on Tuesday.
‘We know that [Parkinson’s] is a one-way street,’ his son Josh, 40, said.
‘My dad is currently living by himself, he’s able to take care of himself, he’s independent, but he built his house knowing that one day he’s going to need more help.
Last week, Jimmy Carter turned 100 years old and expressed his birthday wish is to get to vote for Kamala Harris.
The 39th president is already the longest lived in U.S. history and is now the first to become a centenarian.
When he went into hospice care in 2023 at home in Georgia it was believed he only had days to live.
But he has reportedly ‘perked up’ in recent months and told his grandchildren his new aim is to reach Election Day and vote for the Democratic nominee.
His vote could be important as Georgia is a key swing state which polls show is on a knife-edge between Harris and Donald Trump. In 2020, Biden beat Trump by just shy of 12,000 votes.
According to his family Carter is following the election and respected his friend Joe Biden’s decision to step aside.
Harris has phoned several times and the ex-president has formed a ‘real personal kinship’ with her, his grandson Jason Carter told the New York Times.
The former president is ‘compelled by her story as a real example of the American dream,’ the younger Carter said.
Carter’s last public appearance was nearly a year ago at the funeral of his beloved wife Rosalynn.
They were the longest-married first couple having been wed 77 years.
Carter had a ‘low period’ after that, but has now ‘gotten re-engaged with the world,’ his grandson told the New York Times.
‘All of us, I think, are surprised to see that he’s still going. He may very well be immortal, Jason Carter said.
His birthday will be marked in the small 500-strong town of Plains, Georgia where he lives.
Celebrations include a flyover by military jets, a concert, and a naturalization ceremony for 100 new U.S. citizens.
According to his family Carter now spends his time at home listening to music, including Bob Dylan, and following the Atlanta Braves.
A star-studded concert was held at Atlanta’s Fox Theatre earlier in September and raised $1.2 million to support the international programs of The Carter Center, which Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter founded in 1982 to ‘wage peace, fight disease, and build hope.’