Yo on her year. Yolanda Foster has endured a rather difficult year — battling Lyme disease, splitting from her husband, David Foster and being accused by her Real Housewives of Beverly Hills costars of fabricating her chronic illness — but the reality star is still thankful, she shared on her Bravo blog on Tuesday, December 29.
Foster, 51, opened up to fans about how she has been spending the holidays in Colorado with her gorgeous children, Gigi, Bella and Anwar Hadid. “We had a beautiful, quiet, no gifting, no stress Christmas; we cooked, ate too much, and played lots of games,” the former model shared. “Our family tradition of handwritten letters to each other is the one thing I keep close to my heart as there is no greater gift than feeling appreciated by your loved ones.”
The mom of three reflected back on how much has changed in one year. “Last Christmas I was fighting for my life, hospitalized until the day before Christmas, and headed for the worst six months of this four-year journey,” she revealed. The latest episode of RHOBH, which aired on Tuesday, December 29, showed many of her fellow cast members doubting her debilitating condition.
This, too, according to Foster, was irrelevant. “I am trying to watch the show with an open heart and no judgement of anyone in it as I choose to share my journey in order to bring awareness to Lyme disease and invisible chronic disease in general. I’m well aware that it opened up a storm of debate, but as long as we can speak with kindness and good intent, I believe that my quest for a cure will be rewarded one day,” she continued on her blog. “Only those who have experienced an invisible illness can identify with my journey. Losing my brain function and the ability to participate in life made me lose my identity. I had no choice but to buckle down, surrender, and connect to the deepest part of my soul. Only in solitude could I hear the little bit of my spirit that was still alive and willing to fight.”
In the post, Foster also brought up her estranged husband, saying he saved her life at one point in their marriage. “Last June, David woke up one morning and said, ‘We are not doing any more treatments until you get a full body scan,'” she recalled. “That scan probably saved my life, as doctors found free-floating silicone under my left arm pit, under my right clavicle bone, and under my rib cage . . . None of these findings changed my late stage Lyme disease diagnosis, but it was a good explanation of why three years of hard work had not paid off yet. It was a big breakthrough in my case at a time that I was just existing. At that point I honestly was not sure how and if I was going to pull through.”
Though Yolanda and the Grammy-winning producer, 66, announced their divorce plans in early December, he told Us Weekly last Tuesday that they remain on good terms. “I have always had and continue to have the utmost respect and love for Yolanda, which is why it is so frustrating to see headlines questioning her chronic debilitating illness,” he said in a statement. “I have been by Yolanda’s side over the past four years to the best of my ability as she battled with the complexities of her Lyme diagnosis.”
In her blog post, Foster also brought up her children after watching one particularly poignant scene from Tuesday’s episode. In it, Yolanda gave her children her will as she prepared for surgery to remove her breast implants. “Seeing their faces tonight broke my heart. I did not intend to have such a dramatic moment, and discussing a will is obviously a very uncomfortable discussion to be had at anytime,” she shared. “I have witnessed people not plan accordingly and leave their partners and family in difficult situations which can be avoided by being organized. My father died when I was seven years old. When my brother and I turned 21 we received a small financial gift. It was such an important and memorable gesture to know that he actually planned for us.”
The star said she was looking ahead to the New Year with a fresh vision. “Whatever happened over these past couple of years, I am thankful for where it brought me; I’m exactly where I’m meant to be,” Foster told her fans. “Obviously I had hoped to share with you a more glamorous journey, but these are the cards life dealt me, and even though you see me struggle, you will never see me quit.”
