Teddi Mellencamp’s younger sister shared her heartbreak and inspiration from her “strong” sister after her sibling underwent surgery to remove two brain tumors last week.
Justice Mellencamp turned to her Instagram Story on Sunday to thank everyone who reached out to her over concerns about her sister. “Watching a loved one suffer is horrific,” her since-expired statement began.
“I’ve tried to get back to everyone who has reached out & I know Teddi will share her journey when she is ready. She is by far the strongest person I know.”
Her Story also included a photo of Justice sitting by her sister’s hospital bed as The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star appeared to be asleep.
“So many emotions as I travel home today but her village is the best one I’ve ever seen and I’m so grateful for them,” her message concluded. “Your prayers are everything. Thank you.”
Teddi revealed that she would be undergoing emergency brain surgery last week when she revealed that multiple tumors had been discovered.
“For the last several weeks I’ve been dealing with severe and debilitating headaches,” she wrote in a statement on an Instagram post on Wednesday. “Yesterday the pain was unbearable and required hospitalization. After a CT scan and MRI, doctors found multiple tumors on my brain, which they believe have been growing for at least 6 months.”
Two of the tumors were scheduled to be removed via surgery on Wednesday. The plan for the smaller tumors is that they’ll be “dealt with via radiation at a later date.”
“I am blessed to be surrounded by my children, family, friends, doctors, nurses, and surgeons who are doing everything possible to get me back into better health,” she added in her statement. “Thank you to everybody who has reached out, and to everyone who has supported me along this journey.”
She also shared video clips of her sitting in a hospital bed as one of her friends started to shave her head with an electric razor ahead of the surgery.
“I’m gonna have this look on my bucket list,” she said in the clip. “My best look. I hate to break it to my brother but once I’m allowed to wash my hair and it’s not all spiky, I think I’ve taken you for a run for your money, Hud. I’ll see you tomorrow and we’ll see who wore it best.”
Mellencamp has previously been open about her experience with cancer, recently sharing an image of her surgical scar from her battle with melanoma in honor of World Cancer Day on February 4.
“I’d like to remind you to get your skin checks scheduled,” she wrote on Instagram at the time with a zoomed-in image of a zig-zag incision on her back.
“If this is your first time seeing this, I recently shared my full melanoma journey on @tscpodcast. Give it a listen when you have a chance,” her caption continued. “If it’s not your first time, I hope it’s a good reminder. Who’s making their appointment today? #melanomaawareness #curemelanoma.”
