For those who remember the Carter years, Jimmy had battled hemorrhoids since he was a young submarine officer.  In 1978, Carter had to leave a Christmas party for White House staffers “to receive emergency treatment” for a painful hemorrhoid that left him “almost completely incapacitated from participating in any kind of public events.” For the first and only time during his Presidency, Carter cancelled all his scheduled events for the next day. He was given an injection of Demerol and slept at least part of that day. It was difficult for Carter to walk. The White House forthrightly announced that President Carter was in severe pain from a bad case of hemorrhoids and that surgery was being considered.