As supporters pray, Kim Pegula's father shares her words: 'I will continue to fight'

Apr. 28—Kim Pegula recently told her parents, "I'm fighting and I will continue to fight."

Pegula's fight to heal and rehabilitate from a brain injury suffered last June has been one that is long and largely private. But this weekend, fans and supporters are invited to join her family, friends and co-workers in prayer for the co-owner of the Buffalo Bills and Sabres.

A prayer service and vigil for Pegula, who suffered brain injury after a cardiac arrest last June, will be held Saturday at the Eastern Hills Wesleyan Church in Clarence. Pegula's parents, Marilyn and Ralph Kerr, will be representing the family at the service. In an interview this week with The Buffalo News, Ralph Kerr conveyed the family's deep faith and his sense of optimism for Kim's recovery.

"She's very determined in what she does," he said. "You can see that in the therapies she's doing right now. She is determined to come back to the person that she was."

The family has kept private the week-to-week specifics of Pegula's medical struggles, but in an essay published in February on the Players' Tribune website, her daughter Jessica Pegula revealed that Kim was "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. 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."

Jessica Pegula also wrote about the same characteristics her grandfather expressed in his interview with The News: Kim's sheer will and drive to get better.

"The doctors continue to be blown away by her recovery, considering where she started," Jessica wrote, "and her determination is the driving force of that."

That essay by Jessica, a professional tennis player who is ranked third in the world, provided the first deep insights into Kim Pegula's health situation. The Pegula-Kerr families have long had a connection with Houghton University, a Christian institution located about 90 minutes from Buffalo: Kim is a 1991 graduate, the Pegulas are significant donors to the school, and Ralph Kerr sits on the board of trustees. The idea for holding a prayer service and vigil emerged from a conversation among the trustees.

Kerr was contacted about the idea by the board chair, Dr. Joseph Jennings, who is also superintendent of the Western New York District of the Wesleyan Church. Kerr recalled his response: "I said, 'Gee, that's a wonderful idea. I certainly would support it, but I'm not in a position to give an OK on that. But I'll certainly talk to Terry Pegula and see what he says about it.'"

When Kerr talked to his son-in-law, Terry was quickly agreeable.

"His immediate reaction was — and this is a direct quote — 'The more prayer, the better,' " Kerr said.

The service will include music from Eastern Hills Wesleyan Church's worship team and prayers will be led by several pastors.

An eight-minute video produced by Pegula Sports and Entertainment recognizes the Pegula family's work "in the Buffalo area," Kerr said, and Kim Pegula's leadership as president of both the Bills and the Sabres, both within the organizations and in the Western New York community. The video acknowledges how "all of this came to an abrupt end on June 9," Kerr said, "which happened to be Kim's birthday."

That day last year, on her 53rd birthday, Kim Pegula suffered cardiac arrest at home in Boca Raton, Fla.

The Pegulas' youngest daughter, Kelly, happened to be staying at their home that evening and, in what turned out to be a lifesaving set of circumstances, had recently taken a CPR class. In the family group chat, Kim Pegula had noted, "Nice Kells! Now if we have a heart attack you can revive us."

That is what happened that night: Kelly Pegula performed CPR on her mother, sustaining Kim's life until medics arrived to take her to a hospital.

Those details, held private for months, were shared in Jessica Pegula's February essay. While Jessica won't be at the prayer service — she is playing a tennis tournament in Spain — she did record a video message in which she shares part of that story and provides an update on her mother's situation today. Terry Pegula also recorded a message for the video to thank people for gathering and acknowledge the power of prayer.

Ralph Kerr, a former public school superintendent who is accustomed to speaking in front of crowds, was not planning on delivering remarks at this event. "Once I saw (the video), I said, 'I know I can't do that now. I mean, it's just such a powerful presentation of who Kim was, and our hope along with Jessie and Terry that she's going to be the same Kim again, which we're looking forward to."

Until now, the sole voice from the Pegula-Kerr families to speak publicly and in any detail about Kim's situation was Jessica Pegula's. This prayer service is now positioning Ralph Kerr to reflect on his daughter's fight for health. Here's an excerpt from his conversation with The News this week:

—On his and his wife Marilyn's journey as Kim's parents: "Obviously, no parent would expect a person as young and as vivacious and energetic as Kim to be stricken in this way. It was really tough when we first saw her when she went into rehab. Just the shock of seeing your daughter, who you raised and who you love so much, to be in the state that she was in, I don't know how to describe it other than shocking, disturbing."

—How faith has helped: "We are people of faith. We believe the fact that God basically spared her life, and that's exactly what happened, and Jessie alludes to that in her article. Her sister, Kelly, saved her mother's life. There's no doubt about that. So taking reflection from that and saying, 'Well, obviously, then, the fact that Kim is still here means that God has something continuingly special to do in her life."

—On Kim's prospects for recovery: "We have been praying for total restoration of Kim, and although it's been a really long time already, we're very, very optimistic based on the progress that we've seen. We did see her just recently, and she continues to make outstanding progress. The doctors are very optimistic about a full recovery, and we're believing and praying to that end."

When the Kerrs last visited with Kim, they found their daughter to be resolute.

"She said to us when we saw her last, 'I'm fighting and I will continue to fight,' " Kerr said. "Those are very encouraging words for us."

If you go: The prayer service and vigil for Kim Pegula begins at 3 p.m. Saturday, April 29, at Eastern Hills Wesleyan Church, 8445 Greiner Road, Clarence. The event is free. Because seating is limited, people planning to attend are asked to reserve spots through Ticketmaster. The service will also be livestreamed.

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