美国前总统卡特接受临终关怀

2023-02-20 07:02

当地时间2月18日，美国卡特中心发布声明称，美国前总统吉米·卡特当天决定放弃进一步医学治疗，转而居家接受临终关怀。

当地时间2015年12月13日，美国佐治亚州，美国前总统吉米·卡特在他的家乡马拉纳塔浸信会教堂的主日学校上课。图源：视觉中国

现年98岁的卡特是目前在世最年长的美国前总统。卡特中心在声明中称，在经过一系列的短期住院治疗后，卡特决定在家中与家人共度生命的最后时日，这一决定获得他的家人和医疗团队全力支持。

Jimmy Carter, 98, the oldest living former US president, has opted to spend his final days at his Georgia home, receiving hospice care, his namesake nonprofit foundation says.

hospice /ˈhɒspɪs/：临终护理的

"After a series of short hospital stays, former US President Jimmy Carter today decided to spend his remaining time at home with his family and receive hospice care instead of additional medical intervention," the Carter Center said.

"He has the full support of his family and his medical team. The Carter family asks for privacy during this time and is grateful for the concern shown by his many admirers."

卡特中心关于卡特身体状况的声明。图源：卡特中心社交媒体账号

近年来身体状况引担忧

卡特中心的声明并未详细说明卡特近期为何就诊以及为何选择接受临终关怀，但多家美媒报道称，近几个月来，卡特的健康状况令人担忧。

The Carter Center did not say what prompted the nonagenarian to forgo "additional medical intervention".

nonagenarian /ˌnəʊnədʒɪˈnɛərɪən/：90多岁的老人

据《华盛顿邮报》报道，卡特周边相关人士称，近几个月来，卡特的健康状况逐渐下降。目前，他出行只能依靠轮椅。

卡特此前遭遇了一系列健康危机。2015年，卡特被诊出患有黑色素癌（melanoma），癌细胞已扩散至他的肝脏和大脑。但治疗过后，卡特于次年宣布他不再需要任何进一步治疗，因为他使用的一种药物彻底消除了癌症。2019年5月，卡特在家中摔倒，造成胯部骨折。此后，卡特面临一系列健康问题，他多次通过手术减轻对大脑的压迫。

Carter, the country's 39th president, from 1977 to 1981, has overcome serious health problems in recent years, most notably when he announced in 2015 that he had brain cancer, but late that year declared he was cancer free after treatment, according to US media reports.

2月18日下午，卡特的孙子杰森·卡特在社交媒体发文确认了卡特将在家中接受临终关怀的消息。他表示，他前一天探望了祖父祖母，“他们如往常一般很平和，他们的家中也充满了爱”。

One of his grandsons, Jason Carter, tweeted late on Saturday: "I saw both of my grandparents yesterday. They are at peace and — as always — their home is full of love."

他见证了中美建交

卡特1924年10月1日生于美国佐治亚州普莱斯市。和很多美国前总统不同，卡特属于“草根”出身。

去年，在一封反对在野生动物保护区修建砾石路的辩护状中，卡特曾自我介绍道：“我叫吉米·卡特。在我的一生中，我曾是农民、海军军官、主日学校教师、户外活动爱好者、民主活动家、建筑工、佐治亚州州长和诺贝尔和平奖获得者。1977年至1981年，我还有幸担任第39任美国总统。”

Carter had been a farmer, a naval officer, a Sunday school teacher, an outdoorsman, a democracy activist, a builder, and governor of Georgia before being elected president, and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002.

卡特的总统任期只持续了一届。但卡特在任内取得了一些重要的外交成就，其中包括见证了中美两国于1979年正式建交。

无论是就任总统期间还是卸任之后，他都一直致力于推动中美关系发展。他曾在自传《充实的一生：九十岁回忆录》中提到，与中国的关系是他人生中最浓墨重彩的一笔。

"One of the most compelling facets of my life has been my relationship with China," Carter recalled in his book A Full Life: Reflections at Ninety.
He wrote that his four years in the White House were the pinnacle of his political life, on which he looked back with peace and satisfaction, knowing that he had done his best with "some notable accomplishments".

pinnacle /ˈpɪnək(ə)l/：顶峰

Those accomplishments include overseeing the normalization of diplomatic relations between the US and China in 1979.