Tennis star Jessica Pegula admits that her mother, Buffalo Bills co-owner Kim, had a heart arrest while sleeping in June; “I had to deal with a lot of speculation and questions surrounding her health, even shutting down rumours that she had died” Jessica Pegula considered stopping her tennis career early last year after her mother, Kim, suffered a heart arrest in June.
Kim, co-owner and president of the NFL’s Buffalo Bills and NHL’s Buffalo Sabres, required CPR from her other daughter Kelly before paramedics came and recovered her heartbeat.
Pegula learnt the news after returning home to Florida from the French Open, where she lost to eventual champion Iga Swiatek but got into the top ten. The world number four stated that she wanted to share her mother’s experience after Bills safety Damar Hamlin suffered a heart arrest during an NFL game last month.
She announced the news in an essay for The Players’ Tribune titled “I want to talk to you about my mum”. “Suddenly I went from, ‘Let’s celebrate top 10 in the world’ to, ‘Do I need to start thinking about my career after tennis a lot sooner than I thought?'” Pegula wrote.
“I’m 28, and I take confidence in being able to manage any scenario that comes my way, but
“This was a lot.”
Pegula went on to win Wimbledon and the US Open last year, achieving a career-high ranking of No. 3.
“I still wanted to play Wimbledon if I knew my mum was OK.,” Pegula stated in an email. “My father did not want me to play, but I knew she would be disappointed if I skipped because of her.
“I had to deal with a lot of speculation and questions about her health, even shutting down rumours that she had died,” said Pegula, who lost to Victoria Azarenka in the quarterfinals of this year’s Australian Open.
“It wasn’t the most enjoyable Wimbledon experience I recall. I had a few good wins, and I was delighted to be able to go out and compete given
“The situation.” Jessica credits her sister, Kelly, with saving the life of their mother, who fell into cardiac arrest while asleep about midnight on June 7, Kim’s birthday.
“My dad woke up to her going into cardiac arrest and she was unresponsive for quite a while,” Jessica told him. “My sister performed CPR until the ambulance arrived. “She saved her life.”
Jessica noted that Kim Pegula’s life will not be the same as before.
“She gave everyone so much of her time and energy. She lived and loved it, and it was felt by everyone she encountered. Now we realise that everything is most likely gone. She will not be able to be that.
“I’m not that person anymore.” Kim and Terry Pegula purchased the Sabres in 2011 for $189 million and the Bills in 2014 for $1.4 billion.
She is the president of Pegula Sports and Entertainment, which represents the Bills, Sabres, Rochester Americans of the American Hockey League, and the Buffalo Bandits and Rochester Knighthawks of the National Lacrosse League.
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