BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — Bills and Sabres co-owner Kim Pegula has not been seen in the public eye for months while being treated for what was, up until now, an undisclosed health issue.
This past June, we learned that Pegula was facing “unexpected health issues.”
Her daughter, tennis star Jessica Pegula, revealed more details Tuesday, opening up about her mother in a new article published in The Players Tribune.
Through the article, we learned that Kim suffered cardiac arrest during her sleep. Jessica wrote that her sister, Kelly, “saved her life” by performing CPR.
“They figured out what was wrong, they fixed it,” Jessica Pegula wrote. “But the big question was how she would be when she woke up. Our concern had now moved from the cardiac arrest to a brain injury. Not to mention all the other issues that come with both of those events.”
Jessica said Kim “moved out of the ICU after about a week, and into an in-patient care facility.”
“Today, my mom is still in recovery … she is improving every day.”
More in this story
• Bills, Sabres co-owner Kim Pegula being treated for “unexpected health issues”
• Kim Pegula ‘progressing well’ from health issue
• Only on 4: One-on-one with Bills Owner/President Kim Pegula (2021)
• Kim Pegula shows support for Asian community following Atlanta-area shootings of six Asian Americans (2021)
• Buffalo Bills president, co-owner Kim Pegula talks about her role as first female NFL president (2018)
• Jessica Pegula Honors Bills’ Damar Hamlin at Australian Open
Jessica shared further details about her mother’s recovery in the emotional first-person piece.
“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,” Jessica wrote. “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.”
While Kim Pegula remains the president of both Buffalo sports franchises, Jessica wrote that her involvement with the teams won’t be the same.
“Now we come to the realization that all of that is most likely gone. That she won’t be able to be that person anymore,” Jessica wrote.
This is a developing news story, check back for updates.
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Evan Anstey is an Associated Press Award, JANY Award and Emmy-nominated digital producer who has been part of the News 4 team since 2015. See more of his work here and follow him on Twitter.