Anna “Chickadee” Cardwell.Photo:Anna Cardwell/Instagram;
Anna Cardwell/Instagram;
Mama June Shannon’s family is struggling to come to terms with their new reality asAnna “Chickadee” Cardwell’sfight with cancercontinues andAlana “Honey Boo Boo” Thompsonmakes a decision about college.
On Friday’s episode ofMama June: Family Crisis, Alana celebratedher high school graduationwith her loved ones. After the shock of receiving a car fromLauryn “Pumpkin” Efridand her husband Josh for a graduation gift, the family moved the party to the pool, whereJessica “Chubbs” Shannonhad another gift waiting for Alana.
At first, Alana, 18, squealed with delight as she unboxed a pair of eyelashes for her brand new pink car until she took out a branded t-shirt from the Colorado university she was accepted to.
Earlier this season, theHere Comes Honey Boo Booalum received a hefty scholarship along with her admission to a university in Colorado that specialized in nursing.
Alana “Honey Boo Boo” Thompson graduates high school.Lauryn Efird/Instagram
After Alana reiterated that it was “mydecision” to go to college, Lauryn, 24, reminded her that the family wanted the best for her and her future until Mama June interjected and suggested Alana wanted to stay in Georgia.
“I say if she wants to stay here, it doesn’t matter,” Mama June declared before noting how Anna’s cancer diagnosis made matters complicated and the high school graduate wasn’t jumping to go.
“I personally don’t think Alana is like, ‘Woohoo! Let’s go to college!’ Because you haven’t even signed up for any of the classes,” she continued in a conversation with cameras. “You haven’t made sure that they have availability in your classes. Maybe she doesn’t want to go there and she just don’t know how to say it. Because she knows that she’s gonna get the backlash from Pumpkin.”
Lauryn, on the other hand, disagreed with her mother and got candid about her fears in a confessional of her own.
June Shannon, Alana Thompson, Lauryn ‘Pumpkin’ Efird.Paras Griffin/Getty
“I really want what’s best for Alana,” the mom of four explained. “And her getting up out of here and exploring a new whole life in a new different state with a new slate is going to be so much better than staying here and becoming a teen mom like I did, Mama did, Anna did — like, it’s just a family thing, like, I don’t know.”
“Just get out of here,” she added.
Eventually Alana stormed up to her room as the debate on her college admission continued to ramp up. She later came down to face her family alongside Anna, who asked them to “shut the f— up and leave her alone” on her behalf.
Elsewhere in the episode, it became Anna’s turn to face the music.
When Lauryn accompanied her sister toher chemotherapy session, she went to doctors for a “straight answer” on Anna’s prognosis after feeling like her sister was “sugarcoating” her condition. She then learned that the mom of two didn’t have much time after medical professionals suggested Anna get her “affairs in order.”
Anna “Chickadee” Cardwell and her kids, Kaitlyn and Kylee.Anna Cardwell Facebook
Anna Cardwell Facebook
Back at home, Lauryn began making lasagna, Anna’s favorite food, after hearing about her lack of appetite. She filled Josh in on the heartbreaking news she received from doctors and wondered out loud if she would be responsible for taking custody of Anna’s daughters upon her death.
“Anna hasn’t asked me to take care of Kaitlyn or Kylee but our kids really are close,” Lauryn told cameras. “And it overwhelms me a little bit because it’s like, I know at the end of the day if Eldridge can’t do it, I’m gonna have to be the person who’s gonna have to do it.”
As Josh expressed he was unwilling to take in more kids, Lauryn admitted also didn’t want the responsibility but felt unable to bring the subject up with Anna given her condition.
“I just can’t, man. I’m sending one off to college now and then I got four more — half of them in diapers,” Josh admitted to cameras before addressing Lauryn. “Like, I don’t have the patience for anybody else’s kids, I’m sorry.”
In December 2023, Mama June announced that Anna haddiedfrom her stage 4 cancer diagnosis in a statement shared to Instagram.
“With the breaking heart, we are announcing that @annamarie35 is no longer with us,” she captioned a photo of the family. “She passed away in my home last night peacefully at 11:12 PM.”
“She gave one hell of a fight for 10 months she passed away with her family around her like she won’t and we will will be updating y’all with more information as we get it today,” Shannon continued.
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Mama June: Family Crisisairs Fridays at 9 p.m. ET on WE tv.
source: people.com
