Mama June Shannon‘s daughter Anna ‘Chickadee’ Cardwell‘s final moments before her death have been revealed by her husband.
Cardwell, who died last week aged 29 following a stage four adrenal carcinoma diagnosis in January, was surrounded by loved ones who had rushed to her side to say their reluctant farewells.
“Everyone was crying and freaking out, because we all knew what was happening,” her husband, Eldridge Toney, told People of his wife’s final moments.
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“I did my best to be calm for her. I rubbed my hands through her hair, held her hand and told her it was going to be OK,” he continued.
“I was holding her hand when she took her final breath.”
Toney and Cardwell, who had been together since 2017, married in March after Cardwell received her diagnosis.
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He told the publication he vowed to “do right by” her daughters – Kaitlyn, who was born in 2012, and Kylee, who was born in 2015 – as his wife’s dying wish was “for her girls to grow up knowing who their mother was”.
Toney also told People the couple “never wanted to know” how much time Cardwell had left, though they “knew time was limited”.
Cardwell, who is the older sister of 18-year-old reality star Alana ‘Honey Boo Boo’ Thompson, was formally farewelled on December 13.
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Fans were invited to pay their respects to the late reality star during a special one hour public visitation window at Williams White Columns Funeral Home in Gordon, Georgia.
Her death was announced by her mother, 44-year-old reality star Mama June Shannon, in an Instagram post shared on December 11.
“With the breaking heart, we are announcing that [Cardwell] is no longer with us,” Shannon wrote alongside a photograph of the family.
“She passed away in my home last night peacefully at 11:12 PM,” Shannon continued.
“She gave one hell of a fight for 10 months she passed away with her family around her like she won’t.”