Tennis player Jessica Pegula has shared information about the health of her mother Kim Pegula, shareholder of the Sabers and Buffalo Bills.
On the site ” The Players Tribune “, she reveals that her mother had suffered a cardiac arrest in June 2022 and that she was still recovering.
Jessica Pegula says her mother is making significant progress every day, but the attack had left significant scars. “She faces significant expressive aphasia and significant memory issues. »
She shared that her mother probably wouldn’t be able to reprise her roles as before.
“She can read, write and understand quite well, but she struggles to find the words to respond,” wrote Jessica Pegula, world No. 4. It’s hard to deal with and it takes a lot of patience to communicate with her, but I thank God every day that we can still communicate with her. Doctors continue to be blown away by her determination and recovery, considering where she started. »
Kim Pegula, 53, is president and CEO of Pegula Sports and Entertainment, and president and co-owner of the Bills and Sabres. She was the first woman to be named president of an NFL and NHL team. The Pegulas have five children, including Jessica, Kelly, Matthew, Michael and Laura.
Jessica Pegula, 28, said her mother was sleeping when her father, Terry Pegula, woke up to his wife in cardiac arrest and she was unresponsive for some time.
It was her sister, Kelly Pegula, who performed CPR on her mother until an ambulance arrived. Kelly Pegula had taken a CPR course about three months before as part of a requirement for a job she coveted.
She wrote that she received the call from her sister about the situation around midnight on June 7, her mother’s birthday.
Bills safety Damar Hamlin also suffered a cardiac arrest during the first quarter of a regular season game against the Cincinnati Bengals on Jan. 2 and continues to improve as well. He recently spoke in a video thanking everyone for their support. At the Australian Open, Jessica Pegula, then ranked No. 3, wore a No. 3 patch to honor Hamlin and her mother.
