Priscilla Presley details heartbreaking decision to turn off daughter Lisa Marie's life support amid lawsuit
Priscilla Presley is set to release a new book about the difficulties she's faced in her life, including the loss of her daughter Lisa Marie.
Lisa Marie, Priscilla and Elvis Presley's only child, passed away aged 54 in January 2023.
It went on to be ruled that she died of a small bowel obstruction that was a ‘consequence of a previous disease of injury’ and the obstruction developed 'after bariatric surgery years ago'.
Lisa Marie has fallen ill at her home and was discovered by her ex husband, Danny Keough, in an unresponsive state.
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He proceeded to call an ambulance and Priscilla and Lisa Marie was taken in for urgent medical attention.
She was put on a ventilator that was helping her breathe and at one stage doctors had to restart Lisa Marie's heart.
There was 'no guarantee' that it would keep beating, however, and Priscilla was faced with the devastating decision of whether to keep her only daughter alive or not.
In a moving expert of her new book, Softly, as I Leave You: Life After Elvis, Priscilla said, as per PEOPLE: "I remember is the doctor talking to me. He asked me what I wanted him to do. They had restarted Lisa’s heart, but there was no guarantee it would keep beating. I asked the doctor, 'What kind of life will she have if we keep her on that machine?'
"He looked at me with compassion and shook his head. 'No quality of life at all.'
"I thought about my girl, my wild, rebellious, passionate girl, lying in a vegetative state for the rest of her life.
"I said what I had to. 'Take her off the machine, Doctor.' My voice was barely above a whisper."
Priscilla described it as 'unbearable' and that 'everything went dark' in the moments that the medical team started to unhook Lisa Marie from her life support machine.
"I can’t remember. I don’t want to remember," the grieving mother went on.
Priscilla's upcoming book (which will hit shelves on September 23) comes amid a lawsuit brought against her by her former business partners Brigitte Kruse and Kevin Fialko, the heads of Priscilla Presley Partners.
The pair have accused the 80-year-old of fraud and breach of contract for leaving them on the hook for massive damages after she falsely claimed ownership of her last name and brand despite 'secretly selling those rights decades ago', The Hollywood Reporter said.
They're seeking $50,000,000 in damages.
Kruse and Fialko also allege that Priscilla knew that Lisa Marie, who was the sole air to her father's sprawling estate, was moving to have her mom removed as the head of the family trust.
"Priscilla knew that Lisa’s death neutralized the threat of Lisa’s efforts to have Priscilla removed as the sole trustee of Lisa’s irrevocable life insurance trust, and Priscilla ultimately wanted to control the Promenade Trust and Graceland," states the complaint.
Priscilla's attorney has denied the allegations and branded the suit as a 'malicious character assassination'.
If you have experienced a bereavement and would like to speak with someone in confidence, contact GrieveWell on (734) 975-0238, or email [email protected].
Topics: Lisa Marie Presley, News, Celebrity, Books
Niamh Shackleton