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On Oct. 10, Real Housewives of Atlanta star NeNe Leakes took to her Instagram Story to give a health update about her son Brentt Leakes following his recent stroke.
In a brief video, the 54-year-old reality TV actress confirmed that Brentt, 23, was hospitalized “two weeks ago” with congestive heart failure and a stroke.
Brentt is ‘in good spirits’ following stroke & heart failure diagnosis
“He’s only 23, so he’s really young for something like that to happen to him,” NeNe said. “This is not the way I wanted it to come out. We wanted to be able to talk about it ourself when Brentt was in a better place. So, here I am because I would rather the correct thing be out there than something that’s not correct.”
Since the startling health scare, Brentt has been making a slow recovery. Leakes said that her son is still “struggling with speaking” but has “shown some improvement.”
“We’re really happy and blessed for that,” she added.
NeNe also told fans that her son recently face timed her “in good spirits.”
Doctors are still testing to find the root of the issue
While Brentt’s health appears to be on the mend, doctors are still working hard to find the root of what caused his unexpected stroke. He’s currently undergoing a series of tests, according to NeNe’s emotional post.
“The first thing you know a lot of doctors think of when someone that age comes in with that kind of condition is maybe they have done drugs or maybe they have some serious infection. Maybe HIV or some sort of infection is what I’m being told by the doctors,” The New Normal alum shared.
“Brent doesn’t drink or do drugs. And obviously they’ve tested him for all of those things. They also tested him for HIV. They were thinking that maybe he had COVID and he didn’t know that he had COVID. It was very scary. I don’t even want to go into details. What happened and how I found out and what condition he was in. Obviously a stroke is a very serious thing…Keep us in your prayers.”
Unfortunately, this isn’t the first time that NeNe has been rocked by an unexpected health scare. In 2013, the former Dancing with the Stars contestant was treated for blood clots in her lungs, PEOPLE noted. NeNe is also still mourning the loss of her son’s father Gregg Leakes, who died in September 2021, after a difficult battle with colon cancer. Doctors have considered whether genetics may be at fault for Brentt’s heart condition. Some of her followers even wondered if her son’s weight may have contributed to the problem, but the Atlanta socialite, reassured fans that doctors had already ruled out the possibility.
NeNe said that she believes Brentt may have been under a lot of stress in September because it was the one year anniversary of his father’s death. NeNe and Gregg married in 1997 and welcomed Brentt two years later in 1999.
“He was very close to his dad and he’s been super stressed out over it. And I don’t even know if that has anything to do with it at all.”
Before ending her lengthy update, NeNe told fans that she would be stepping away from the family’s business at the Linnethia Lounge, which Brentt helps her run in Duluth, Georgia.
“Brentt ran the lounge, that was his pride and joy. He loved it,” she said, noting that it’s “very possible” they will sell the business.
“We have sat and talked about selling the lounge now because it’s something that Brentt runs along with me,” NeNe continued. “I got into business with Brentt and Gregg and some other friends to do it. And this is just a lot right now on me.”
Our prayers go out to Brentt, NeNe and the entire family.
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