Queen Latifah and her mother, Rita Owens, are doing their part to raise awareness when it comes to heart failure. In a new public service announcement for the American Heart Association’s Rise Above HF campaign, Latifah and her mother talk about how they’re both staying strong as they deal with Owens’ heart failure.
“My family’s support keeps me strong; together, we’re rising above heart failure,” Owens says in the PSA.
In an interview with People, Owens spoke about how the diagnosis initially put her in a “valley,” and she wasn’t able to stay active.
“I found myself becoming a recluse,” Owens said. “You have to understand your body is not processing the same way it was before. I started counting the things I can’t do instead of the things I can do. And I said, ‘Nope, this is not acceptable.’”
Queen Latifah also shared the effect her mother’s diagnosis had on her.
“We’ve learned a new us,” Latifah told People. “We’ve gotten a lot closer and we’ve learned each other on a whole different, deeper level.”
Owens also credited the fact that she has started attended church again, as well as her daughter’s spirit, with helping her through heart failure.
“I started coming back,” Owens says. “I thank the Lord every day that I have that I can live with this, and that he put people in my life that told me so.”
Owens is on medication and had a defibrillator implanted in her chest to avoid a heart attack. She has also changed her diet to include more vegetables and less salt and fat.
Queen Latifah and her mother remain positive, and Latifah says her mother is the strongest person she’s ever known.