Ex-president Jimmy Carter released from hospital after brain surgery

Former President Jimmy Carter was released from a Georgia hospital Wednesday after spending more than two weeks recovering from surgery to relieve pressure on his brain caused by bleeding from recent falls.

"Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter was released from Emory University Hospital this morning after successful surgery and recovery to relieve pressure on his brain caused by a subdural hematoma," said a statement from the Carter Center. "He and Mrs. Carter look forward to enjoying Thanksgiving at home in Plains, where he will continue to recover."

The statement said the Carters were grateful for supportive prayers, notes and cards they had received during the 95-year-old's hospital stay.

The Carter Center announced on Nov. 11 that the former president underwent surgery and experienced "no complications."

In October, the same month Carter became the first U.S. president to reach 95 years old, he fell at home, fracturing his pelvis.

He had also fallen earlier in the month and received stitches above his brow. He was reported to be feeling fine after that Oct. 6 incident at his home.

In May, Carter broke his hip and underwent surgery after falling at his home in Plains, Georgia, as he was leaving to go turkey hunting.

The 39th president said in August 2015 that he had been diagnosed with cancer and would undergo treatment for several melanoma spots on his brain and liver. Previously, a mass had been removed from his liver that was also melanoma. He said months later that an MRI scan showed his cancer was gone.

Carter has spent his post-presidential years as a highly visible advocate around the world for human rights and the poor. He is also a fixture as a Sunday school teacher at Maranatha Baptist Church.

Soon after his Oct. 6 fall, Carter volunteered at a project for Habitat for Humanity, an organization that he has worked closely with since 1984.