Gracie Pugh Reflects on Life After Tragic Accident That Claimed Her Father Jay Briscoe

Former ROH star, late Jay Briscoe’s daughter, Gracie Pugh, recently opened up about her journey of recovery over a year after the tragic car accident that claimed her father’s life. The accident occurred on January 17, 2023, just minutes from their home in Laurel, Delaware. Gracie and her sister Jayleigh suffered severe injuries in the crash, while Jay Briscoe lost his life.

In a conversation with the Central Worship Center, Gracie Pugh shared her experiences during recovery. She first elaborated on the day of the incident, which occurred when she, her sister, and her father were on their way back from cheer practice. Pugh revealed that an unknown person pulled her out of the car and she could remember hearing her sister and her father being carried away in a truck.

Later at the hospital, Gracie was visited by her mother who informed her about the fans of Jay Briscoe praying for their lives. She went to another hospital for surgery and upon waking up the next day, he mother informed her about the heartbreaking news of her father not being able to survive the accident.

“We just went to school, it was a normal day and then after school we went to cheer practice and we got into a car accident on the way to cheer practice. Once we had the car accident, i remember some dude just carrying me out of the car and then i just remember my sister, I don’t remember seeing her, I remember hearing her. I remember seeing my dad in the truck. After that we went to the hospital, my mom like came in there and she told like how there were so many people there and everyone was praying them already and I asked where my sister was and she was in the room next to me and then I just remember going into the next hospital, which is AI. I went into surgery there and then the next day I woke up. I was really clueless, I didn’t know what was happening, but I asked for my phone and then my mom had to tell like that my dad passed away.”

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Furthermore, Gracie elaborated on the injuries sustained by herself and her sister after the accident. She had a spinal cord injury while her sister broke her leg and collarbone and stomach complication led to her surgery.

“I had a spinal cord injury and my sister, she broke her leg. The bone came out of her leg, she broke her collarbone. Something happened to her stomach, she had undergo surgery for that.”

Shortly after her father passed away, Gracie was informed that she would not be able to wall again. However, the Doctors offered a high-risk treatment and informed her that her nerves would stop regenerating after a year, but she refused to let that prognosis define her limits. With the unwavering support of her family, Gracie exceeded expectations, began to walk again and sometime later, was able to jog, ride a bicycle and even able to reignite her passion for gymnastics.

“So after I found out my dad died and that I may never be able to walk again, the doctor explained to my mom that my back was broke and he could fix my back, like he could make it look normal again. But it would take a much higher will power for me to walk again. After a while of therapy, I started to take steps at home and I took my first few steps and I knew right then that I could actually like begin to walk again and run again, do what I want, just make a full recovery overall. I could start to jog again and then then I tried to tumble more and like even two weeks ago, I could go back up on my toes which I couldn’t do for this whole period of time.”

While her popular father, Jay Briscoe, might be gone, Gracie Pugh has shown compassion and a positive attitude towards life and, most importantly, the soul of a fighter carrying the legacy of her father in her own way. Her resilience and attitude of Never Give Up serve as a reminder of the impossible feats one can achieve if one puts one’s heart and soul into it.

What are your thoughts on Gracie Pugh’s inspirational story? Sound off in the comments!