Mama June Shannon Reveals What Late Daughter Anna 'Chickadee' Cardwell Wanted Most Before Her Tragic Death
Anna "Chickadee" Cardwell was focused on her family in her final days.
The late 29-year-old was diagnosed with stage four adrenal carcinoma in January 2023. She fought the horrible disease for nearly one year before she tragically passed away last December surrounded by those closest to her.
In a recent interview, Mama June Shannon revealed they knew Anna's time was coming just after they returned from their final family vacation to Gatlinburg in early December.
"We went there the last week of November instead of July 4th. Well, the 5th," the 44-year-old reality star explained. "I kind of knew something was up when we was in and out the last couple of days, but we adored our time."
"Once she came back here and she [had] seen the nurses and all of that, they was just telling us that she was starting to transition," June continued. "I just thought it was because she was out from the trip and stuff like that. But no, it really was she was just transitioning."
The mother-of-four admitted they did "get closer" during that time because all her daughter wanted to do was spend quality time with her loved ones.
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"That's really what Anna kept repeating, 'I want to spend more time with family. I want to spend more time together,'" she added. "We came together and made that happen."
June also praised her husband, Justin Stroud, for being a "very big support" to her throughout Anna's cancer battle.
"I tell a lot of people he didn't have to do what he [has] done. But me and him, we took Anna to every treatment," she said. "He was mainly the one helping get the kids back and forward to school, stuff like that."
Aside from being a key part of the family's support system, June also confided some of her deepest concerns to her husband regarding what will happen to Anna's kids — Kaitlyn, 11, and Kylee, 8 — in the future.
"It's a hard subject to talk about but like, when that time does come, like whenever Anna was to pass away, Eldridge [Toney] has told all of us that he's not going to be able to handle [raising her kids]," she told Justin in a previous episode of Mama June: Family Crisis. "So like, I want to be able to have that place to be like, 'Okay, you can come here.'"
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People reported June's comments about Anna's final wishes.