Jimmy Carter to return to teach Sunday school less than 2 weeks after breaking pelvis
It's going to take more than a fractured pelvis to keep Jimmy Carter, the nation's oldest former president and a lifelong Baptist, from teaching Sunday school. Mr. Carter's church in Plains, Georgia, said Tuesday the 95 year old plans to teach his Sunday school class this weekend, less than two weeks after breaking his pelvis in a fall.
The announcement by Maranatha Baptist Church came a day after it had said he wasn't up to appearing.
"We are proud and relieved to announce President Carter has changed his mind and decided that he feels well enough (to) teach," said the update.
The pastor at Maranatha Baptist, Tony Lowden, said Mr. Carter's stamina is "amazing."
"I've never seen anything like him," Lowden said.
Mr. Carter suffered the fracture in a fall October 21, shortly after another tumble in which he hit his head and required stitches.
He has been teaching Sunday school for decades, and big crowds typically show up at his small church in Plains to hear his lessons. He missed last Sunday because of the pelvis injury. Aides have said Mr. Carter is recovering at home following a hospital stay. He lives only a short distance from the church, located in rural southwest Georgia.
Mr. Carter has fallen at least three times this year and the first incident in the spring required hip replacement surgery. He traveled to Nashville, Tennessee, and helped build a Habitat for Humanity home after getting 14 stitches following a fall October 6.
While Mr. Carter used to stand as he taught the class, which is held in the sanctuary, he has used a chair with a motorized seat lift in recent months.
The 39th president received a dire cancer diagnosis in 2015 but survived and has since said he is cancer-free.
