May 5 (UPI) — Carrie Fisher‘s half-sister Joely Fisher shared on “The Dr. Oz Show” Thursday, how she is grieving the actress and what happened the final time they saw each other.
“They say seven stages of grief. I think it’s more like 77,” Joely Fisher said to Dr. Oz.
“I’m a mother of five, people, and I am an actress and I’m directing my first movie and I’m doing many things so I have to go on with life,” she continued.”But I do find myself seeing those pictures just now … I miss that. I miss her around. I miss being able to call and, you know, make a joke about politics, frankly, anything.”
Joely Fisher and Carrie Fisher are the daughters of Eddie Fisher. Joely Fisher’s mother is actress Connie Stevens while Carrie Fisher’s mother is actress Debbie Reynolds, who died a day after her daughter. The “Star Wars” actress died in December at the age of 60 after going into cardiac arrest on a flight from London to Los Angeles.
“I saw her in November for her [60th] birthday and we had a grand time, the typical Carrie party,” Joely Fisher recalled of their final meeting before sharing the final conversation they shared over text messages.
“[The texts] were from the night before she got on her fateful flight and I’ve saved them, screen shotted, backed them up onto, you know, other hard drives because, you know, I don’t ever want to lose them. We talked about politics. We talked about our mothers, who were frail, both of them. And, our children and promised to see each other at Christmas, which I upheld. I was there … I think she knew I was there.”
Carrie Fisher’s brother Todd Fisher recently discussed his sister’s struggle with bipolar disorder in order to encourage children to seek help with mental health as part of the Child Mind Institute’s new #MyYoungerSelf campaign.
“She was struggling through something and was very alone,” Todd Fisher said of his sister’s childhood living with the disorder. “All she had was the support of her family.”
Once Carrie Fisher received treatment for bipolar disorder including therapy and medication, Todd says the “Star Wars” star was able to succeed personally and professionally.
“She left us with this amazing inspiration of a person that survived incredible adversity,” he continued. “Use her as your role model. Do not be afraid to ask for help. You’re not alone and treatment does work.”
