In December 2023, Entertainment Tonight reported the sad news that Anna “Chickadee” Cardwell had passed away. Everything about Anna’s terminal cancer and her untimely passing was tragic.
But shocking new details are emerging about Anna near the end of her life. You won’t believe what her mom, Mama June Shannon, revealed in an exclusive report.
It’s never easy to receive shocking news like a diagnosis of terminal cancer. But according to a recent People article, Mama June revealed that Anna was taking her cancer diagnosis especially hard.
A trailer for Mama June’s reality show, Mama June: Family Crisis, exposed the real truth. The trailer was titled, “Are June and Justin prepared to raise a 12-year-old?”
But shockingly, Mama June claimed in the trailer that Anna had the problem, not her or her husband, Justin Stroud. She even said that her daughter didn’t have her affairs in order. Mama June alleged that Anna was “in denial” about her terminal cancer.
Shockingly, she was sure that Anna’s refusal to take charge of “certain affairs” would hurt her daughters, Kaitlyn and Kylee. Mama June kept on making shocking allegations about how much Anna struggled, and what was happening in the family as Anna reached what Mama June called her “final destination.” She made these confessions on camera at a breakfast restaurant, sitting with Justin and his mom.
Eldridge Was Hesitant to Become Kaitlyn’s Legal Father
Mama June claimed that she and Justin were relocating to Georgia because she wanted to be closer to Anna and her grandkids. But she also confessed a more shocking reason for their move.
In the Mama June: Family Crisis trailer, Mama June insisted that “it’s a hard subject to talk about.” But she still revealed that Anna’s husband, Eldridge Toney, had confided to her that “he’s not going to be able to handle” raising Anna’s daughters “whenever Anna was to pass away.” Although Mama June claimed that Anna had said she wanted “Eldridge to adopt Kaitlyn,” she also said that Anna was “brushing off” making the arrangements.
Kylee, the youngest daughter, would be raised by her biological father, Michael. But Eldridge allegedly told Mama June that he was hesitant to become Kaitlyn’s adoptive father.
The situation sounded so crazy that Justin even claimed on air in the restaurant, “It’s going to be a mess when it comes to that child.” It seemed like Mama June defended herself on camera, claiming that she had yet to find the right time to sit down with Anna to “talk to her about her plans,” as People said in their exclusive.
Allegedly, Mama June wanted to talk to Anna alone, without Eldridge around. She was concerned that Anna would not “say what she wants to say” with her husband in the room. Mama June also stated that she was fully prepared to give Kaitlyn “what she needs.”
Mama June Cared For Kaitlyn For Four Years
Later, in a sit-down confessional, Mama June reminded everyone of what she had done during the first four years of Kaitlyn’s life. She said, “Anna just wasn’t quite ready to be a mom.”
When Justin’s mom asked him and Mama June during breakfast if they were really ready to take on a 12-year-old girl, Mama June could have told her that she’d taken care of Kaitlyn for many years before.
But Justin had conditions when it came to raising Mama June’s granddaughter. Justin later appeared in a sit-down confessional with Mama June. When she told him, “It may be a real possibility that we end up raising Kaitlyn,” Justin had something to say.
He explained, “You know I’m going to be here and do what I need to do to raise that little girl.” But Justin also said that Anna “has to get paperwork and make it legal.” Instead of agreeing with Justin’s concerns, Mama June later defended Anna.
In another scene, she told Justin and his mom that it would be a “hard pill” for Anna to swallow when it came time to sign her “rights” away for the custody of her oldest daughter. In a heartbreaking explanation, Mama June admitted, “At that point, it’s going to become real to her.”
She added that Anna is “not going to be able to see [Kaitlyn] graduate. She’s not going to see her turn 18.”
Mama June said that Anna would realize, “This is true. This is my destination.”
Anna’s Cancer Battle Lasted For 10 Months
When Anna passed away on December 9, 2023, Mama June took to Instagram the next day to share the news. Mama June also praised her daughter, writing that Anna “gave one hell of a fight for 10 months.” She added that Anna “passed away with her family around her.”
It seemed like Mama June was preparing her followers for Anna’s tragic passing with her message on Friday, December 8th. Mama June pleaded in her message, writing, “Y’all, we are asking for prayers for our family as we are going through this process.”
If Anna was “in denial” about her cancer, as Mama June had claimed, she maintained a great sense of humor about her situation, like in an Instagram post from May 2023. Anna had begun cancer treatments last March. In her post last May, she said it was a “pretty good day” and “Cracker Barrel was good going down but not up,” with a laugh-cry emoji suggesting that she could still joke about feeling nauseous.
She also shared updates about her kids on Facebook last year. In one bittersweet post, Anna wrote that she couldn’t believe she was going to have a middle schooler and a second grader. She added, “I am so proud of my girls and everything they have accomplished.”
Mama June had claimed that TikTok became Anna’s “escape” during her cancer treatments. However, she said it was also “mentally draining” on Anna to get asked personal stuff about her cancer battle nonstop.
Mama June said Anna would “escape” by dancing and “being goofy” on TikTok. She added that Anna’s fans loved that about her. Mama June suggested, “I’ll tell you, go follow Anna, if she’s feeling good, she’s mostly on there.”
Anna Knew Her Time Was Limited
But Mama June also revealed to People how Anna’s terminal cancer was draining her emotionally. She said she didn’t go on TikTok “a lot because of Anna.” She explained that she wasn’t “mentally or emotionally prepared to deal with 5,000 people” asking about Anna.
Mama June told People last year, “You don’t know whether to scream. You don’t know whether to laugh. You don’t know whether to holler.” Then she said, “You don’t know who to blame.”
Eldridge did an exclusive interview with People about a week after Anna passed away. He revealed some intimate details of their final moments together.
He confirmed to People that he married Anna on March 4, 2023. Elridge said that they “knew time was limited” because of Anna’s diagnosis.
Then, Eldridge discussed Anna’s last days. He revealed, “We had our talk and said our goodbyes.” Eldridge claimed that Anna’s final “wish was for her girls to grow up knowing who their mother was.”
Eldridge said, “I promised I would do right by the girls always. I will spend my life doing right by Anna and the girls.”
Anna’s young husband also praised her for being “super strong for the family,” even though she was in tremendous pain and taking “lots of medications.” Sadly, Eldridge did confess that while Anna put on a brave face when it was just the two of them, it was hard not to break down.
Anna’s Services Were Private
People also reported one shocking decision that Anna allegedly made. The exclusive report claimed that Anna’s legacy “will live on” because she wanted her “final days” to be filmed for the family’s reality show.
The exclusive report also revealed that People staff were invited to Anna’s private funeral on Wednesday, December 13th. Anna’s visitation at the Williams-White Columns Funeral Home in Gordon, Georgia, was public.
The service was kept private for family, friends, and guests only. Attendees at Anna’s service were not allowed to bring cell phones.
People reported that about 70 attendees were present for Anna’s “emotional service.” The guests included crew members from the reality show, but no filming occurred at the funeral home—so the service remained private, as the family had requested.
