Toni Braxton Reflects On “Health Scare” In ‘The Braxtons’ Season Premiere
Toni Braxton opens up about a near-fatal health scare in The Braxton’s series premiere. The singer shared how the experience disrupted her career and why she was hesitant to detail the scary incident to her sisters and mother.
“Toni has always been [a] recluse when it comes to her feelings. She’s never really been this person who just wants everybody to know what’s going on with her in her life, and especially with her health,” explained Traci Braxton per PEOPLE Magazine.
The “Breathe Again” singer, who was diagnosed with Lupus in 2007, invited her family to dinner to relay the news.
“I know I have to tell the girls about a health scare, which makes me feel some kind of way, because the last health scare we heard was Traci…” detailed the 56-year-old. “On the brink of Traci stuff, I don’t want to get them riled up, [thinking] ‘Oh, is Toni okay?’ So I don’t even want to tell them. Maybe I shouldn’t. I don’t know.”
Setting aside her anxieties, Toni was able to inform her family that she was close to having a widowmaker heart attack. According to Mercy One, also known as a myocardial infarction, the widowmaker has a 12% survival rate and occurs when the front artery, the biggest of three major arteries, is blocked.
Toni shared that her doctors were able to catch the blockage before the heart attack happened, elaborating, “If I had a heart attack I wouldn’t have survived, I wouldn’t be here right now.”
She continued, “They told me your sister was watching over you because they right, you should be dead today. You should not be alive… That’s a very scary procedure itself, but when my doctor told me I might not ever be able to do a tour again. Okay? I heard it before, but this was different. They say you may never be able to do another tour because you could have a heart attack.”
Traci Braxton, the second-eldest of the Braxton sisters died in March 2022 after a private battle with with esophageal cancer. She was 50 years old. Traci Braxton is survived by by her parents, Evelyn and Michael, her four sisters and older brother, Michael Braxton Jr., her husband, Kevin, her son, Kevin Jr., and grandson Kevin Surratt III.
Her tragic death is one reason the women reunited for the new reality series, according to Tamar Braxton.
“The first reason why is because this is something that Traci [Braxton] wanted us to do. During her final days, this was something that became important to her. And I remember calling [Carlos King] in tears because I was so conflicted because I did not know what to do,” detailed the 47-year-old.
The Braxtons airs every Friday with hour-long episodes airing exclusively on We TV and streaming on ALLBLK weekly. Watch the trailer below.
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