Cindy Crawford is opening up about the heartbreaking loss of her brother, Jeffrey, who died from leukemia after being diagnosed at age 2.
In a candid conversation on the April 25 episode of the "Kelly Corrigan Wonders" podcast, the 59-year-old supermodel reflected on her brother's death and shared how her family first discovered he was battling the disease.
Cindy Crawford shares advice for her younger self as she celebrates her 56th birthday"I know this sounds very, like, child abuse, but, you know, we definitely were spanked as kids," she shared. "My mother, she would say, 'Go to your room, you're getting a spanking.' And that waiting period to your point was just like the worst."
"I have a brother who died and he had leukemia, and before we knew he had leukemia, one of the symptoms of leukemia is you bruise super easily," the model explained. "My dad had, like, swatted him, but it left like a handprint on him."
Crawford said her mother later "freaked out" at her dad, and told him, "You can't be hitting the kids that hard, you know, that's not a spanking."
"And my dad was like, 'No, I swear I barely touched them.' And then later that week, we found out that he had leukemia, so I think that that was it. My dad... he never could spank again," she continued.
According to the American Cancer Society, there are multiple types of pediatric leukemia but common signs and symptoms can mimic other illnesses and include easy bruising, fatigue, fever, night sweats and pain in the bones or stomach.
Crawford also spoke about how her family, especially her mother, coped with the devastating loss of her young brother.
"I mean, so I was 8. My older sister would have been 10, my younger sister would have been 4," she shared. "And Jeff was like 2, turning 3 when he got diagnosed, and then he was sick for two years."
"I didn't really feel it as a kid, and I didn't know and we knew he was sick, but we didn't really know what was going on," she said.
Crawford also recalled how she and her sisters had to stay with extended family while her brother was hospitalized.
"I think when he died, obviously that was devastating for the whole family," she added. "I think for my mother, she was able and chose to really grieve properly. She went to death and dying courses. She has a very strong faith. So she was able to move through grief."
Crawford explained that while her mother was able to focus on the family's healing, her father, who had to return to work just days later, handled the loss differently.
"My mom was home and wasn't working at the time. Like she was able to help us deal with it," she said. "I remember when I had my first kid and like I called my mom and said 'Okay, how did you survive?' You know -- you can't imagine losing a child until you have a child. And even then, you don't want to imagine it."
She continued, "But I remember her saying, 'Well I had three other kids looking at me to lead them through this,' and I think that because of us, she kinda got out of bed and did what she had to do."
