Former Nickelodeon star Jamie Lynn Spears — the younger sister of singer Britney Spears — said it’s “a miracle” her daughter Maddie survived a nearly fatal accident five years ago.
When she was eight years old, Maddie crashed the all-terrain vehicle she was driving, hurling her into a pond, where she remained submerged under water for about two minutes, still strapped into the ATV and unable to escape.
Finally freed from the vehicle, Maddie was taken to the hospital. She suffered no brain damage and fully recovered from the frightening experience.
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“We did a lot of work, obviously, to process it, and now it’s more about focusing on the positive and the fact that it is a miracle — and that is not the case for so many people,” Jamie Lynn Spears told Page Six of her daughter’s incredible recovery from the deathly crash.
The younger Spears went on to say they “were blessed” Maddie survived the accident unscathed.
“Things like that don’t just happen for no reason,” she said. “That’s how we discuss it now. It’s our miracle anniversary, not our accident anniversary. And both Maddie and I are so grateful.”
The “Sweet Magnolias” star posts about the harrowing ordeal each year. In February, Jamie Lynn Spears celebrated the success of her Netflix series, which hit No. 1 on the streaming platform the same day as the five-year anniversary of Maddie’s accident.
“Maybe, it’s just a little reminder to remain faithful through the good times and the bad times,” she wrote in an Instagram post. “I mean, I had nothing when I thought I lost my baby girl, so my faith was literally all I had left to cling to. I thank God everyday for the extraordinary medical professionals, all the prayer warriors, and the countless angels in heaven, and on earth who made our miracle possible.”
Britney Spears reflected on Maddie’s crash earlier this year, too. In a post of her own, the “Gimme More” singer said her “mind was completely and absolutely gone” when she first learned what happened to her niece.
She explained that her brother, Bryan, had to step in to calm her down, because she “stopped breathing” and “started throwing things” when she thought Maddie had died. The pop star went on to say she just “stood there crying” until she learned her niece “opened her eyes [and] could see.”
“Death is a mystery … We don’t understand it… My mind couldn’t process it,” she added.
As for Jamie Lynn Spears, she is appearing in the forthcoming Fox reality series, “Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test.” In the show, the former “Zoey 101” star said learning how to perform a helicopter challenge forced her to come face-to-face with some of the emotions she felt during her daughter’s accident five years ago.
“The way they used the physical elements to bring out this mental healing was really important,” she told Page Six. “Obviously, having to go through that experience with Maddie was very tragic for me.”
“And even though it turned out to be a miracle and she survived, all the water and the elements involved in the helicopter mission was tough for me,” Jamie Lynn Spears continued. “The second I was asked if I was OK, I threw up. My body remembered the trauma of Maddie’s accident, but it was also super healing.”
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