Fan favorite Shereé Whitfield shared so much of her family and personal life during her time on the Real Housewives of Atlanta. Now she’s sharing her mother’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis.
In the first four seasons of the popular Bravo series, viewers watched the RHOA OG struggle to raise her three children as a single mom. We also saw her adorable mom, Thelma Ferguson, from time to time.
On March 12, Shereé shared a sweet video on her Instagram of her mom smiling and dancing. Sadly, she revealed that only a year after losing her dad to Alzheimer’s disease, her mom has also been diagnosed with the same condition.
A heartbreaking update
After apologizing for not being as present on social media as usual, Shereé shared that she had been “dealing with a lot” but wanted to “bring awareness to a cause that is near and dear to my heart.”
“Alzheimer’s and dementia is a disease that has affected millions of people worldwide,” she wrote. “As many of you know, my father passed away last March due to Alzheimer’s. It saddens me that [this is] the one-year anniversary of my father’s death, and this disease is also affecting [another] very close family member, my mom.”
“This has been one of the most difficult experiences I have ever endured, especially going through this with close family members back to back,” the fitness enthusiast continued. She added that she was “feeling helpless like there is nothing I can do but try to make them as comfortable as possible when, of course, that’s not enough!”
Reaching out to her followers who have been through this with a loved one, she asked for “helpful tips.” She went on to add, “I am open to learning more about this disease and would love to know how you guys are managing it.”
Advice for Shereé
My mother also had dementia in her later years. As someone who oversaw her care for the last 14 years of her life, I would advise Shereé to spend as much time with her mom as she can. Take her for a drive, take her to lunch, or just sit and hold her hand. Tell her you love her every time you see her.
Don’t be afraid to enlist the help you need. One of the best things we did was to send my mother to a senior daycare program. It was only a few hours a day, but she did crafts, sang songs, told stories about her life, and had a hot lunch. It was like kindergarten for adults, but she loved it, and it gave my husband and I a break from her care.
But the most important thing to do is to care for yourself. There’s a reason flight attendants tell caregivers to put on their own oxygen masks first. One of the workers at my Mother’s Day program once told me, “We lost three this year.”
“Patients?” I asked.
“No, caregivers,” she responded. Do what you can do, but don’t be afraid to ask for help when you need it. Don’t wear yourself out. To paraphrase Shereé’s most famous quote, “Who gon’ check you, boo?”
It’s a hard journey but one you’ll never regret taking. Your mother cared lovingly for you when you were helpless. Now it’s your turn.
The Real Housewives of Atlanta is now streaming on Peacock.
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TELL US – HAVE YOU HAD EXPERIENCE CARING FOR SOMEONE WITH DEMENTIA? DO YOU HAVE ADVICE FOR SHEREÉ?
