"Happy Days" star Erin Moran's husband Steve Fleischmann has spoken out via an Open Letter revealing the heartbreaking details of his wife of 25-years and her fast and fatal battle with cancer. The emotion and raw pain can be felt through each and every word that Erin Moran's husband Steve penned in an open letter describing his late wife's horrific medical battle with stage four cancer.
Erin Moran's family had no idea things were so bad
Fleischmann reveals that Moran first began experiencing symptoms around Thanksgiving, stating that the real concern began when she awoke one morning with a dime-sized blood stain on her pillow. In early December Erin made an appointment with her doctor, where she was diagnosed with a type of skin cancer called squamous cell carcinoma.
Coroner reveals that Erin Moran's cancer advanced beyond treatment stages
Steve went on in his letter stating that Erin immediately began a five-week round of chemo and radiation, but the disease quickly took over Erin's body, and by February the former sitcom star was unable to speak and required a feeding tube.
Throughout all the pain and agony, he revealed that Erin stayed happy and texted her friends daily, but sadly, her condition continued to worsen. By April 21st, her husband wrote that Erin was having great difficulty breathing as fluid continued to build in her lungs. The following morning Steve revealed that he knew Erin was not well at all, stating that she needed kleenex so he made a quick trip to the store.
After his return he said he crawled into bed with his wife to watch television, taking her hand, he fell asleep. An hour later, Erin died peacefully, holding her husband's hand as he slept. He revealed that no one, not even her doctors, told him just how bad things really were for Moran.
It was not until the coroner spoke with the family after her passing that they found out that the cancer had spread to her spleen, affecting her lungs and brain.
There was nothing that could have been done at that point to save her. Steve revealed that he has opened up, posting this letter -- which has also been shared by Moran's former "Happy Days" co-star Scott Baio -- with the hope that the media will stop pestering the family for details and respect their privacy while they mourn the loss of Erin.
As previously reported, actress Erin Moran, best known as Joanie Cunningham on the television sitcom "Happy Days" passed away in her Indiana home on April 22nd from complications of cancer. At this time memorial service details are still pending.