Professional tennis player Jessica Pegula has revealed for the first time details about the health of her mother, Kim Pegula, co-owner and president of the Buffalo Bills and Buffalo Sabers, and how she went into cardiac arrest last year. I explained how much and I am still struggling to recover.
In an essay published in Players Tribune on Tuesday, Jessica Pegula said she’s writing about it now because she wanted to be more open after Bills defensive back Dumar Hamlin went into cardiac arrest during a Jan. 2 game. He was discharged on January 11th.
In an essay titled “I want to talk about my mother,” Pegula, 28, said she texted her husband about Mr. Hamlin’s ordeal when he attended the Australian Open last month. “My situation with my mother weighed heavily on me,” she wrote in an essay.
“When can we talk about it?” she wrote. “When can I tell her story, my story, my family story? Everyone keeps asking me. I really need to get it off her chest.”
Kim Pegula, 53, and her husband Terry purchased the Bills in 2014 from the estate of team founder Ralph Wilson. The couple paid her $1.4 billion, which at the time she was an NFL franchise record.
Billionaire businessman Terry Pegula made his fortune primarily in natural gas and real estate development. In 2011, when Jessica turned 17, Peglas purchased his NHL Buffalo Sabers.
That changed with an essay by Jessica Pegula of The Tribune.
“This is the story of my mother, my family, and the past year,” she wrote.
It started in June when Jessica Pegula returned to Florida after playing at the French Open. Her sister Kelly called her around midnight and she said she was on the way to the hospital in an ambulance after her mother went into cardiac arrest. Her sister was on CPR until an ambulance arrived and doctors took over.
“She saved a life,” wrote Jessica Pegula.
Then came what she described as a “waiting game” after months of uncertainty about the long-term effects on her mother’s health. moved.
“She was aware, she was talking a little bit, but she was far from her normal self,” writes Jessica Pegula.
Jessica Pegula 4th in the world, reluctantly competed at Wimbledon. While addressing rumors that her mother had passed away and answering her questions about her health, she said it was “a few good wins” in the stress of her mother’s recovery. Told.
Jessica Pegula said, “Today my mom is still recovering. It’s the same answer every time someone asks me, but she’s getting better every day.
“She’s dealing with severe expressive aphasia and significant memory problems,” she added, referring to a state where people have trouble speaking in complete sentences or finding the words they’re looking for. “She can read, write, and understand, but has trouble finding the words to respond.”
Jessica Pegula said her mother is behind her father’s success.
“She jumped into this journey with him, learning many lessons and breaking many barriers along the way,” writes Jessica Pegula. It was a heartbeat change. She put a lot of time and effort into it.”
“Now we realize it’s likely all gone,” she wrote.
At last month’s Australian Open, Jessica Pegula wore Hamlin’s number 3 patch. “But it felt like it wasn’t just for him, it was for his mother.”
When asked what happened to Hamlin, Jessica Pegula said it was a “strange, confusing, complete moment” considering what her mother had endured as well.
“Again, I don’t usually feel overly disturbed, but thinking about what Dummer and his family are going through is heartbreaking,” she wrote.
Jessica Pegula said her family has always been private, but concerns about her mother’s health weighed heavily on her, creating a “huge void” in her family and the Bills and Sabers organization, which could affect relationships, including employees and fans. He said that “a harsh reality” has arisen for all of them.
“I wanted to tell them that they had no right to know what happened, but at the same time, people were scared and wanted to know,” she wrote. “Their leaders, bosses, friends, colleagues, all of a sudden stopped responding to her calls and emails and all of her meetings were cancelled.”
Kim Pegula is home now, her daughter wrote. Jessica Pegula said her mother is recovering, but her prognosis is unknown.
“Thank you to the Buffalo community for your patience,” she wrote. I felt like I was there.”
