Buffalo Bills co-owner and president Kim Pegula remains in recovery after suffering a cardiac arrest at her home in June of 2022, Jessica Pegula revealed in an article published Tuesday in The Players Tribune.
Jessica Pegula, Kim's daughter and currently the No. 4 ranked women's tennis player in the world, wrote that Kim is "dealing with significant expressive aphasia and significant memory issues" following the incident. Jessica credited her sister, Kelly, for administering life-saving CPR when Kim was found unresponsive in her bed.
"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," Jessica Pegula wrote. "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."
Tuesday's announcement is the first public acknowledgment of the specific incident Kim Pegula endured. The Bills previously announced on June 28, 2022, that Pegula was "progressing well" from an unspecified health issue.
Jessica Pegula described in her essay the toll that her mother's cardiac arrest and subsequent recovery has taken on her family, and how she decided to compete in The Wimbledon Championships in 2022 because she knew her mother "would be upset if I skipped because of her."
Pegula would reach Wimbledon's third round, falling to Croatia's Petra Martic in straight sets, but Pegula would go on to win her first WTA 1000 singles title last November.
"In my acceptance speech I dedicated it to my mom," Pegula wrote. "I wanted her to know that even after a terrible six months, I still fought every day because of her. If she could fight through what she was going through, I could too."
Pegula also described her personal reaction to Bills safety Damar Hamlin suffering a cardiac arrest during Buffalo's Week 17 game against the Cincinnati Bengals.
"The thought of what Damar and his family were about to go through hurt my heart," wrote Pegula, who was in Australia for The Australian Open at the time. "I knew how important time was. I just kept thinking time, time, time, time. I hope they got him back and quick enough. The medical staff and trainers who assisted that night really saved his life and were tremendous in his recovery."
Pegula wore a No. 3 patch in honor of Hamlin during The Australian Open, where she reached the quarterfinals.
Kim and husband Terry Pegula purchased the Bills franchise in 2014. They also own the NHL's Buffalo Sabres. Kim has served as the Bills' president since 2018. She is also the Sabres team president and president/CEO of Pegula Sports and Entertainment.
