In a recent essay for the Player’s Tribune, tennis player Jess Pegula wrote about her mother Kim’s health struggles.
Kim, a co-owner of the Buffalo Bills (NFL team) and the Buffalo Sabers (NHL team), underwent treatment for health issues in June 2022. At the time, details about Kim’s health were scarce. Jess has revealed that her mother went into cardiac arrest on her birthday at the family’s home in Florida.
Jess said the desire to tell her mom’s story, which has been a pivotal part of Jess’ journey for the past few months, was sparked by Damar Hamlin’s injury. Hamlin, a Bills player, went into cardiac arrest after being struck in the chest during a tackle.
“I texted my husband, Taylor, that the situation with my mom was weighing on me. When can we start talking about it?” Pegula wrote. “When can I tell her story, my story, my family’s story? Everyone just keeps asking me. I really need to get it off my chest.”
Jess revealed that her mother was sleeping when she went into cardiac arrest. Her father Terry awoke to Kim going into cardiac arrest. Jess’ sister Kelly gave their mother CPR until the paramedics arrived, which Jess says saved Kim’s life.
The Bills owner is slowly recovering. Jess wrote that her mother has “significant expressive aphasia and significant memory issues.”
The tennis player also said she understood why people outside of the family wanted more details about her mother’s health.
“I won’t lie, I wanted to tell everyone to leave us alone. People acting like they should be privy to all our information,” she wrote. “Even people we knew. I wanted to tell them all that you have no right knowing what happened, but at the same time people wanted to know because they were scared. Their leader, boss, friend, co-worker, all suddenly didn’t answer her phone, or emails, and all her meetings were canceled.”
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