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A friend of late wrestler Jamin Pugh, better known to fans as Jay Briscoe, provided an update on injuries sustained by Pugh's daughters in relation to the fatal crash that claimed his life earlier this week.
Josh Wharton, who launched a GiveSendGo fundraiser to help the Pugh family pay for expenses related to Jamin's death and the daughters' medical expenses, revealed the diagnoses Gracie and Jayleigh Pugh, both of whom underwent surgeries for severe injuries.
Gracie, 12, was diagnosed with an L2 dislocation, L3 and L4 fractures and spinal coord progression and "could not feel anything from the waist down," according to Wharton. The child was reported to have regained feeling in her thighs, but still couldn't feel anything below her knee prior to undergoing surgery early Wednesday (January 18) morning, which relieved compression in her spinal cord and continues to recover from swelling and trauma.
Doctors are said to be playing "the waiting game" while monitoring the 12-year-old's recovery, as she hasn't yet regained feeling in her legs, but had regained "tingling in her feet" on and off as of Thursday's (January 20) update, according to Wharton.
Jayleigh was diagnosed with an open tibia and fibular fracture prior to undergoing surgery and was placed in an external fixator before being transported to a bigger hospital, where is still receiving treatment. The 9-year-old was also diagnosed with a C7 fracture that will cause her to remain in a neck brace for six more weeks, L3 and L4 fractures that will require a back brace for 12 weeks and a broken rib on her right side.
Jayleigh also suffered internal bleeding Thursday, but doctors were able to perform successful bowel resection surgery to fix the issue.
Wharton also shared a text from Jamin's widow, Ashley, who said "both girls are in a lot of pain" and wanted "to express how thankful we are for the outpouring of support from our community and the wrestling community worldwide."
On Wednesday, Ashley initially announced that her daughters sustained injuries during the crash that killed her husband.
"We need prayers! Gracie is on her way into surgery on her back. Jamin would want the whole world praying for his little girl," Ashley Pugh wrote on her Facebook account. "WE BELIEVE IN THE POWER OF PRAYER!! Pray for the doctors and everyone working on her! Pray for her precious legs to move again! Pray for Jayleigh who has some pretty serious injuries, but is stable and resting! Pray for Gannon waiting at home! Pray for strength for all of us! We have a long long road ahead of us!"
Ring of Honor Wrestling and All Elite Wrestling owner Tony Khan announced news of Pugh's death Tuesday night.
Delaware State Police confirmed that a Chevrolet Silverado 2500 driven by Pugh was struck head-on by another Chevrolet Silverado 1500 driven by a woman, identified as Lillyanne Ternahan, 27, who failed to remain in her lane for unknown reasons. Ternahan was also pronounced dead at the scene.
Pugh was in his thirteenth reign as ROH World Tag Team champion alongside his brother, Mark Briscoe, at the time of his death.
The Briscoe Brothers were among pro wrestling's most decorated tag teams of the past two decades, most notably for their run in Ring of Honor, as well as Combat Zone Wrestling, Pro Wrestling Guerilla, the National Wrestling Alliance and New Japan Pro Wrestling.