Country music superstars Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood dropped by an Uptown neighborhood to help former President Jimmy Carter build a house Monday.
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In this November 1, 2015 photo, former President Jimmy Carter is interviewed at a Habitat for Humanity project site in Memphis, Tenn.
Habitat’s CEO Jonathan Reckford said Carter’s jump-right-in attitude hasn’t changed since his cancer diagnosis.
Jimmy Carter will participate in a Habitat for Humanity build on Monday in Memphis after the cancellation of an worldwide project featuring the former president.
Before becoming involved with Habitat, Rosalynn Carter said she and her husband would donate turkeys at Thanksgiving and presents at Christmas.
“I’ve reacted well to the treatments”, he said. “To find out that we couldn’t go because of civil disorder in Nepal was just a very serious blow to me and I presume to the other 2,500 people who were going to join us down there”. “And they are just as ambitious and just as hard working”. “And their family values are just as good as mine, and they’re just as ambitious, they just need a chance”.
The Carters, pillars of the Habitat for Humanity program since 1984, had meant to be in Nepal this week on a massive home-building project, but popular uprising against the government there had resulted in a border closing; so the Carters, along with country music stars Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood cane to Memphis instead.
Carter got a single dose of radiation, targeted at four tumors on his brain, in August, and four treatments since then of Keytruda, a newly approved drug that helps his immune system seek out cancer cells.
On Monday, the 91 year old was hammering, using an electric saw and generally supervising at the Uptown site.
“I feel fine. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t be here”, Carter said.
“As a matter of fact”, he said, “I get maybe a little more emotional the older I get”. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t be here. So that part of it has been a relief to me and I think to the doctors. Carter’s presidential museum in Atlanta even includes an exhibit featuring a pair of his work boots and a hammer once used in a contest on the Tonight Show.
Habitat’s Carter Project volunteers will conduct multiple projects during the build week, including new home construction, beautification projects such as minor repairs, painting and landscaping, and Aging in Place projects, including critical home repairs, weatherization, and modifications to enhance accessibility and mobility for low-income seniors.
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“It’s been a long journey”, she said. “Memphis has always been close to us because we had to make all the wedding plans that Amy cancelled. You can tell when he’s building; he’s working on getting the job done”.
