Frankie Abernathy

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Frankie Abernathy
Frankie from The Real World: San Diego
Born	December 21, 1981 Kansas City, Missouri, USA
Died	June 9, 2007 (aged 25) Shorewood, Wisconsin, USA
Occupation	Purse designer

Frankie Jo Abernathy (December 21, 1981 – June 9, 2007) was a castmate on MTV's The Real World: San Diego. Hailing from Kansas City, Abernathy was the elder daughter of Abbie Hunter and Joe Abernathy. She had a younger sister named Mamie, and a stepfather, Perry Hunter. She attended Blue Springs High School in Blue Springs, Missouri.

[edit] The Real World: San Diego

MTV's promotional materials described Abernathy as someone who "likes to shock people with her appearance, date bad boys, party all night and dreams of being an artist." She was known for her taste in punk rock music, and her fondness for Hello Kitty.

The first housemate Abernathy greeted was Jacquese Smith, with whom she first entered the Real World house, and with whom MTV believes she may have been the closest during their stay there.^[1]

Abernathy suffered from cystic fibrosis, with which she was diagnosed at the age of three, and during her time on The Real World, she showed many symptoms of the genetic disorder, such as difficulty breathing and immune-system impairment. Her disease was a significant part of her storyline on the show. Regarding living with cystic fibrosis (less than half of whose sufferers live to the age of 37), one of Abernathy's sayings was, "Tomorrow is a privilege, so live today like tomorrow isn't happening."

Abernathy ended up leaving the show before the end of the season, due to conflict with her roommates and the strain of separation from her boyfriend at the time, tattoo artist and musician Dave Duly.

[edit] After The Real World

After leaving the show, Abernathy spent her time working at numerous retail outlets in Kansas City, working tattoo conventions with the Art Intensity Network, getting more tattoos, and spending time with her loved ones. She also graced the cover of the May 2005 issue of Prick, a tattoo magazine.^[2]

Abernathy moved to Shorewood, Wisconsin with her family in the fall of 2006. She began designing purses forged from old vinyl records, though she did not work full time. According to her mother, winter is a difficult time for people with the chronic lung disease, but the 2006 winter had been particularly problematic for Abernathy. Her illness had been worse than in prior winters, and the family considered trying to get Abernathy qualified to appear on a lung transplant list.

Abernathy died suddenly at her mother's home on June 9, 2007, at the age of 25. An official cause of death has not yet been determined. She is the second alumnus of the The Real World to die, after Pedro Zamora. As with Zamora's struggle with AIDS, Abernathy is credited, according to MTV.com, with helping to raise national awareness of cystic fibrosis, and putting a face on the disease. Abernathy's housemates Jacquese Smith and Jamie Chung were particularly devastated by her passing.^[1] Abernathy's mother, Abbie Hunter, said about her time on the show:

“

Her experience on The Real World taught her about what she needed to do, and it helped other people as well. I know several people weren't aware of the cutting epidemic at the time…and I know several people wrote Frankie and thanked her. She was a different person for The Real World realm, and I think she touched a lot of people and made an impact on a lot of people's lives. That's what you want when you have a child — you hope they do that. I wish it had been in a different way, but I am proud of her, and as I said, she got a lot of personal growth out of her experience, and she was very fortunate to have had the experiences she did.

”

A scholarship has been set up in her name at her alma mater, Blue Springs High School.^[3][4]

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