Talk show host Queen Latifah celebrated her mother, Rita Owens, on Monday’s episode of “The Queen Latifah Show.” Latifah, 44, touched many lives when she revealed her mother’s battle with an autoimmune disease.
Earlier this year, Latifah opened up to People about Owens’ daily struggle while living with scleroderma, an incurable autoimmune disease that has causes pulmonary hypertension, scarring and tissue build up in her lungs.
As you can imagine, her condition weighs heavy on Latifah’s heart as she describes her mother, a former high school teacher, as her hero. But when it comes to caring for her ill mother, Latifah says she feels fully responsible despite her busy schedule and can’t image anyone else looking after Owens.
“Anyone who has a job and then has a family member at home who is ill, it’s 24 hours. You have to be there. They need you,” says Latifah, who enlisted friends and family members to help out while she’s at work. “I try to be as in the moment and as present as possible. And then I try to get some sleep and go to work and be present there and then go home and be present there.”
“It’s not a day or night that she doesn’t peek her head in my room and make sure I’m OK,” says Owens. “If it’s medical, she’ll go in and grill the doctors and make sure they are doing what they are supposed to do. She sacrifices her time, her resources. She genuinely loves me and I know that.”
As we approach the holiday season, it is beautiful to witness those around us (celebs included) give thanks for the special people who have touched their lives in unforgettable ways.
What are you thankful for this Thanksgiving?! – ruu hawkins/@ruubabie
