Anna ‘Chickadee’ Cardwellmarried Eldridge Toney shortly after learning ofher cancer diagnosis, PEOPLE has confirmed.
The couple began dating in 2017 following Cardwell’s divorce from ex-husband Michael Cardwell, with whom she welcomed daughterKylee Madisonin 2015. Cardwell was also mom to daughter Kaitlyn Elizabeth, born in 2012.
Anna “Chickadee” Cardwell and Eldridge Toney.Anna Cardwell/Instagram
Anna Cardwell/Instagram
“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, 44, continued.
Cardwell’s 18-year-old sister,Alana “Honey Boo Boo” Thompson, alsoaddressed her deathonInstagramSunday, opening up about how she plans to keep Cardwell alive in her memory.
“This is one post I wish I didn’t have to make 💔,” Thompson wrote. “Last night we all surrounded Anna with love & let her know it was okay to go. Unfortunately around 11 pm Anna took her last breath. Anna was in so much pain last night but now as a family we all know she is at peace now. I really don’t know what to say as my heart is completely broken.”
“Watching my 29 year old sister this last year battle this horrible disease hasn’t been easy. Anna was a fighter & still is. Lord please wrap your arms around her 2 babies & our family as the next couple of days will make this all a reality 🥹,” she continued, referring to her nieces Kylee and Kaitlyn.
“We will all make sure your legacy lives on forever,” she added. “And I promise to always make sure to celebrate our birthday like you never left! The sky looks a little bit different today. We will always love you Anna 💔. You hit me hard with his one Anna but I know your in a better place now and pain free forever!”
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Back in October,Cardwell and Eldridge appeared togetherin a lighthearted snack challenge video on TikTok. The clip showed the pair trying out some unusual snacks, including strawberry flavored Coca-Cola from China and Lay’s fried chicken flavor chips from Taiwan.
At one point in the video, Cardwell addressed her hair, which had begun to grow back following her chemotherapy treatment, the first round of which she underwent in March. “Ignore the hair, okay? I don’t know what it’s doing,” Cardwell said. “So just go with the flow."
She also shared an encouraging update at the time, as she joked that the snacks were “good going down but not up 😂," and added, “but over all it’s going good and chemo is working we come to find so things are looking good 😇😁😁🙏.”
Anna “Chickadee” Cardwell; Alana “Honey Boo Boo” Thompson.instagram (2)
In July, Shannon gave another update about Cardwell’s health and the next steps in her daughter’s cancer treatment plan.
“She’s had, like, four cancer treatments, but she will not have any more chemo treatments,” she toldEntertainment Tonight. “The next course, if she chooses to, if that time comes, will be immune therapy or clinical trials. And she just wants to see how it’s gonna go, and we don’t know what to expect because the cancer is very aggressive and it grew from nothing to something huge on the left side of her body really fast."
The day before Cardwell’s death, Shannon made an urgent plea to her followers on Instagram to keep her family in their thoughts.
“Y’all we r asking for prayers for our family as we are going through this process we really appreciate y’all for all the thoughts and prayers and we will update y’all whenever we can just know that all of your thoughts and your prayers are very much appreciated during this time,” Shannon captioned thepost, adding the hashtag #cancersucks.
Shannon’s 23-year-old daughter,Lauryn “Pumpkin” Efird, reshared her mom’s post on her Instagram Story, writing, “Say a prayer for our family.”
source: people.com
