'The Donna Reed Show' star Shelley Fabares turns 79, thanks 'monumental' husband Mike Farrell
SANTA MONICA, CALIFORNIA: Actress Shelley Fabares who is famous for playing the character of Mary Stone in 'The Donna Reed Show' in 1958 turned 79 on Thursday, January 19. Before beginning a more serious movie career, she performed the role for five seasons. The actress has had a long-running, well-balanced career and has appeared three times alongside the renowned singer Elvis Presley.
Fabares first found stability when she married record producer Lou Adler in 1964 since she began acting at an early age. However, after 14 years of marriage, the couple split up in the '60s, and they were divorced in 1980. She took shot at love when she married actor Mike Farrell in 1984. She also became the stepmother to his two children from a previous marriage. She also expressed her gratitude to Farrell for supporting her through some difficult moments in her life.
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Fabares has suffered several health issues in her life. After sustaining multiple rib fractures at home in 1998, Fabres' health deteriorated over time. She eventually received a serious auto-immune hepatitis diagnosis, necessitating a liver transplant in 2000. In April 2003, the seasoned actor talked openly about how she was getting better. She acknowledged that she and her husband did not anticipate the operation and that they only saw it as a "safety measure" when doctors recommended it.
Reality soon set in, and Fabares realized that her only chance of survival lay in a new liver. She was added to the liver transplant waiting list in April 1999, and she knew in her heart that it would be some time before she received one because most people on the list die before they do. The 'Coach' actress reportedly said that because of the delay, which had grown intolerable, she realized she may not have much time to live, according to AmoMama.
After 22 months of waiting. on October 23, 2000, she finally got her new liver. The singer claimed that even though she was able to resume her normal life, the incident had changed her and she had a new "approach" to life.
Faberes was especially thankful to Farrell, who had been by her side through thick and thin. He took on the role of her full-time carer and helped her get well. She is content and in good health 20 years later. "I am so incredibly blessed by the man I am married to. I was so very ill for such a long time, and we didn't know what was wrong, but he was with me every step of the way – accompanying me to every doctor's appointment. He's just monumental, and I don't know how I could have gotten through this without him," Fabares reportedly said.
The two-time Emmy Award nominee claimed that such events caused families to splinter. However, Faberes said that as their family became "stronger and closer," she and the 'M*A*S*H' actor experienced precisely the opposite. "Situations like this – catastrophic illnesses – can tear some families apart, but ours only got stronger and closer," she said.
Fabares stated her gratitude for achieving a full recovery once more. She once more acknowledged her adoring husband while thanking the medical staffers who treated her. "I'm grateful for my life. Grateful for my doctors. Grateful for what I have learned about myself and about life. And most of all, I'm grateful for my husband. I've gained so much," she said.