TikTok star Ophelia Nichols, best known as Mama Tot, got real about one of the most painful days she’s had following the sudden death of her child.
As we previously reported, the beloved social media personality has been mourning the loss of her 18-year-old son Randon Lee after he was shot and killed at a gas station in Alabama on June 24 – just one day before his 19th birthday – in a drug deal gone wrong. The Prichard Police Department revealed the teen was selling marijuana at the time of the shooting, causing “shock on top of the grief” for Ophelia.
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Ever since the fatal incident, she’s been open about the grieving process with her fans (or her Tater Tots) on the social media platform. And earlier this week, Ophelia hopped on TikTok to talk about a recent visit to the beach she went on with her family for a “day of healing.” Alongside footage from the trip to the shore, she expressed:
“I cannot lie, the past three days have probably been the worst for me. And I’ve did everything single thing that I tell y’all I do. I find at least the joy in something every day so that I can laugh or smile, but the only thing that I have been patiently waiting to do is go and be by the water ever since my family has been through the hardest moment of our life.”
Because Ophelia and her children grew up near the water, she explained that the beach day was supposed to help her “feel the closest to my baby child just sitting on the sand all by myself.” She continued:
“I sat in silenced for a little while, just so that I can talk to my baby child. I know he’s listening. We had a good day today despite the rain.”
@shoelover99 ♬ Emotional Piano for the Soul (Inspirational Background Music) – Fearless Motivation Instrumentals
So sad…
When a fan asked if Randon had given her “any signs that he’s there,” Ophelia explained in another video posted on Thursday that one week before he passed away, she found a bluejay feather and decided to keep it. She ended up putting the feather in the casket with her son. Since then, many of her followers have also found bluejay feathers and sent them to her to collect. The influencer even spotted one during her “healing” day at the beach, recalling:
“When I walked out to the water, I was by myself, and the only thing that I see floating in the water was this feather. So I grabbed it, and I knew he was with me.”
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Despite the touching experience, Ophelia tearfully shared another heartbreaking moment she said in the comments of a clip on Friday that happens “often throughout the day.” She lamented in the video:
“So I’m in grief therapy, and I started that a few weeks ago. I’m glad I did, but my therapist told me that I need to learn to speak on things when I think it. I like my alone time, and I like to be by myself. I don’t like to tell anybody what I’m going through or what I’m feeling. … I’m going to share with y’all what I just felt. Before my baby child passed, since I’ve been on social media, I would see other people’s videos about how they lost their child. And I thought to myself, I wouldn’t know what to do, and here I am doing it just like them. I’m one of them.”
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No parent should have to go through something as devastating as this. Our hearts continue to go out to Ophelia and her family as they grieve the loss of Randon.
[Image via Ophelia Nichols/Instagram/TikTok]
