BUFFALO, N.Y. — Jessie Pegula is opening up about what happened to her mom, Kim.
Kim Pegula, co-owner of the Buffalo Bills and Buffalo Sabres, suffered a cardiac arrest in her Florida home last June.
In a letter written on the Players' Tribune, Jessie Pegula details the events of what happened to her mother and her recovery.
She writes, "My mom was asleep when my dad woke up to her going into cardiac arrest and she was unresponsive for quite a while."
She credits her sister Kelly with performing CPR in saving their mother's life until paramedics arrived an restored her heartbeat. Jessie Pegula says Kelly had just received her CPR certification a few months prior to their mom's incident.
Jessie Pegula details the stay in the hospital, wondering what her mother would be like after going for so long without oxygen.
Jessie says Kim made small improvements and moved out of ICU after just one week and into an in-patient care facility. She writes, "She was aware, talking a little, but a long way from her normal self. After a long two weeks, she was in a good set-up to start her recovery which we knew would take a very, very long time."
Jessie Pegula says her mom continues to recover. In her letter, she says, "Today, my mom is still in recovery and although it is the same answer every time someone asks me, it is true, she is improving every day. She is dealing with significant expressive aphasia and significant memory issues. She can read, write, and understand pretty well, but she has trouble finding the words to respond. It is 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 at all. The doctors continue to be blown away by her recovery, considering where she started, and her determination is the driving force of that.?
You can read the full letter in the Players' Tribune here: https://www.theplayerstribune.com/posts/jessica-pegula-tennis