Former US President Jimmy Carter headed into surgery

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter was heading into surgery Tuesday morning to relieve pressure on his brain.

Carter, 95, was admitted Monday night to Emory University Hospital after recent falls he sustained resulted in brain bleeding, according to his charity group, the Carter Center.

"President Carter is resting comfortably, and his wife, Rosalynn, is with him," it said in a statement announcing his hospital admittance.

The media is waiting for an update on when Carter is expected to enter surgery, or if he has already gone into the operating room.

Carter had fallen at least twice last month, with one incident requiring him to receive 14 stitches above his brow after he hit a sharp surface. The second fall resulted in Carter receiving treatment for a pelvic fracture.

Carter is America's oldest living ex-president, and has already received treatment for liver and brain cancer. He is now cancer-free.

But despite his health challenges, Carter has remained committed to a life of voluntarism. He has maintained his strong presence with Habitat for Humanity, the nonprofit committed to building homes for those in need, and as recently as last month he traveled to Nashville, Tennessee to help with one of Habitat's builds.

That visit coincided with the same week Carter received the stitches to his face, but at the time Carter reportedly said with a blackened, swollen left eye that it was a "number one priority" for him to be at the site.

Beyond his voluntarism, Carter still takes the time to teach Sunday school twice a month at Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains, Georgia, his quaint hometown.