Jamie-Lynn Spears recently opened up about the horrific ATV accident that her daughter, Maddie, experienced three years ago. While being interviewed on Better Together With Maria Menounos, Jamie-Lynn discussed the incident in greater detail, and she began crying when she recalled that things were "not looking good" when Maddie was admitted to the hospital.
"My oldest daughter was in a really bad accident," she said, after carefully explaining that "with every safety measure that could be taken" Maddie "somehow or another, drove into the water. We dove in and we were unable to rescue her. When we were finally able to get her out of the water … and the first responders took her from me, we thought she was gone." Jamie-Lynn continued, "We thought we lost our daughter."
Jamie-Lynn also says the feeling was truly a horrible one to experience. "That moment, I felt everything that you can feel, I think, as far as the worst. There's nothing worse than looking at your child and just feeling that you've failed her. And I didn't want her to think that I couldn't save her."
Authorities were called to the scene of the incident, and a firefighter was eventually able to get Maddie’s pulse again. Maddie was then airlifted to a local hospital.
“She wasn’t responding to anything and so it was not looking good for us.”
Jamie-Lynn asked if a priest could be let into the ICU to administer Maddie's last rites, and the hospital agreed. "He went to put the oil on her and read the rites and she sat up and started kicking, and her hands started grabbing at all the things. That was our first sign that she was there."
Jamie-Lynn said this was the moment that "everything changed" in terms of who she was a parent. She also shares 2-year-old daughter Ivey with her husband, Jamie Watson.
"I’ve faced my worst fear now. What else can I mess up or do wrong that will be as horrible as that? Nothing. There's nothing."
"God gave me the blessing of giving me my daughter back. I lost her and I got her back. So I don't get to make any excuses. I've been given the best, the biggest blessing you can be given. I'm not allowed to waste a day on this earth complaining or being ungrateful."
Earlier this year, Jamie-Lynn noted the anniversary of the accident on social media. She posted a photo of Maddie in the hospital to Instagram, writing that "3 years ago today, Super Bowl Sunday fell on February 5th, and I’ll never forget that, because it was the day my whole world stopped."
"It started like most Sunday's, going to church, visiting family, to suddenly trying to save my daughters life, to them taking her away, to us believing we had lost her forever, and it literally felt like the world stood still around me. I have never spoken fully in detail about that day, and the events that followed, but what I will share is that God blessed us with a true miracle."
"Maddie not only stayed here with us, but she made a full recovery. I know so many of you prayed so hard for us, so I will never let this day pass without thanking each of you for every single prayer you said for us, and I hope you all know we do not take this huge blessing we were given for granted, because most are not as fortunate, and we are fully aware of that horrible and unfair fact."
"I am filled with gratitude today, and everyday, even on the bad days, because even those days are a gift, that so many others would give anything for just to have their loved ones back. Let's all be thankful for the tiny miracles in our lives everyday, that we may take for granted, because it could all change in a second. Thank y'all for always being there for me and my family, we appreciate you and love you so much."
Jamie-Lynn also discussed the interview with Maria on Instagram, saying, "Well We started off talking about #SWEETMAGNOLIAS and how family, community, and faith are the common themes throughout the whole show, which naturally led to me sharing a brief bit about the worst day of me and my family's life, and how our family, community, and faith is also what got us through those times."
Happily, Maddie is doing much better these days, and she was on hand to celebrate her sister's second birthday recently. She and Jamie-Lynn have also been dancing up a storm on TikTok, and they've even shared a few of their videos with Jamie-Lynn's followers.
