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Former Louisiana Governor Edwin Edwards placing himself in hospice care
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BATON ROUGE - Former Louisiana Governor Edwin Edwards is entering hospice care at age 93.
A spokesperson for Edwards confirmed the retired politician and former Navy pilot decided to place himself in hospice care at his Gonzales home. Edwards served four terms as governor and previously held office as a Congressman and state Senator.
Edwards downplayed the decision, calling it a "matter of good and convenient care."
“But since I have been in and out of hospitals in recent years with pneumonia and other respiratory problems, causing a lot of people a lot of trouble, I have decided to retain the services of qualified hospice doctors and nurses at my home. While people assume that hospice means I’m dying, I assure everyone it’s simply a matter of good and convenient care that is less trouble for everybody," Edwards said in a statement Monday. "I’ve made no bones that I have considered myself on borrowed time for 20 years and we each know that all this fun has to end at some point. But it won’t be anytime soon for me. In fact, I am planning my 95th birthday party for next summer and hope you’ll come.”
Edwards' family said he had recently been in and out of the hospital due to pain in his right lung.
“His blood oxygen and blood pressure were both low,” his wife Trina Edwards said in a statement. “And we made the decision to go the hospital out of an abundance of caution. His strength has been failing in recent weeks but Edwin has always rallied back in the past and we’re praying for that again.”
On Monday morning, she added, in a separate tweet, that the Edwards family is grateful for the community's support.
She tweeted, "Thank you all for your continued prayers. I'm grateful to have amazing friends who've helped and supported me in every way over the last few weeks and to now have much needed help from Hospice of Baton Rouge so that Eli and I can continue to keep Edwin at home with us. Edwin is happy, comfortable, and surrounded by love. I'm confident he will be here for a long time."
You can read the full announcement from Edwards and his family here.
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