Jamie Lynn Spears is opening up about the terrifying day she thought she had lost her daughter forever.
Nearly a decade after Maddie Aldridge’s near-fatal ATV accident, the actress and her now-18-year-old daughter are reflecting on the ordeal that left their family fearing the worst.
From desperate prayers to what Spears describes as a miracle recovery, the mother-daughter duo is sharing how the life-changing experience strengthened their faith and forever changed the course of their family’s story.
In a new interview with PEOPLE, Jamie Lynn Spears looked back on the 2017 accident that nearly claimed Maddie’s life.
“That was the day I thought I’d lost my daughter. Against all odds, this baby girl fought to be here,” the actress revealed.
Maddie was only eight years old when she was riding an ATV on the family’s property in Fluker, Louisiana. According to Spears, the frightening incident happened in an instant.
“We were watching her, and we still don’t quite know if she was dodging a dog or what it was,” she shared, adding, “She went in the water and me, my father-in-law and my husband [Jamie Watson] ran as fast as we could to go jump in to get her out, but she was stuck under the ATV.”
As family members rushed to help, Spears’s mother-in-law called 911. Emergency responders arrived within minutes to assist in rescuing Maddie from beneath the vehicle.
Spears Thought Her Daughter Was Gone
The situation became even more devastating once Maddie was pulled from the pond.
“When Maddie was pulled out of the water, it was really not a sight anybody wants to see,” Jamie Lynn Spears recalled. “At that point, she was not breathing. We thought that she had passed.”
Then came a moment the doting mom says she will never forget. A firefighter suddenly announced they had found a pulse.
Maddie was immediately airlifted to a hospital, where doctors placed her in intensive care. She remained in a coma for two days as loved ones waited and prayed for signs of improvement.
The family’s fear grew so severe that a priest was called to administer her last rites. For Spears, the experience was almost impossible to process as she watched her daughter fight for survival.
Jamie Lynn Spears Believes A Miracle Happened In The Hospital
While Maddie remained unconscious, Spears shared that an extraordinary moment unfolded in her hospital room.
“He comes in, and she physically sits up in all her restraints and tubes,” the 35-year-old said while recalling the priest’s visit. “I’m screaming for the doctors, like ‘Come in here now!’”
The experience left everyone stunned. “Even the priest was like, ‘I’ve never seen anything like what’s happening,’” Spears explained.
For the “All That” actress, that moment strengthened her belief that her daughter could hear the prayers surrounding her.
“I knew she was in there and felt all of us praying. We were given a miracle, and I don’t take it for granted,” she said
Although Maddie has no memory of the accident itself, she believes the ordeal had a lasting impact on the family’s faith.
According to Spears, “I feel like our faith got a lot stronger. In the end, I think such a negative experience affected us positively.”
Spears Says Maddie’s Recovery Led To A Special Promise
Before the accident, Maddie had often talked about wanting a younger sibling. According to Jamie Lynn Spears, those conversations took on new meaning while her daughter remained in a coma.
“I was bargaining with God, like, ‘Take my arm, take my leg. I don’t care. Just give me my baby back,’” she recalled, adding, “I was like, ‘I’ll have a baby. I’ll have whatever you want.’”
When Maddie finally regained consciousness, Spears immediately remembered one thing. “You going to give me that baby?” she asked her mother.
Spears laughed while remembering her response. “I was like, ‘Oh, He’s already calling in,’” she shared. Only a few months later, the singer became pregnant with her second daughter, Ivey, who was born in 2018.
Jamie Lynn Spears Celebrates Maddie’s Bright Future
Despite the grim predictions that followed the accident, Maddie made a full recovery and is now preparing for an exciting new chapter.
“Seeing everybody rally around me, it made me realize how blessed I am. It really made me so grateful for every day,” Maddie said during the interview.
The teenager is set to attend the University of Southern Mississippi this August, where she plans to study health sciences while continuing her softball career.
Watching her daughter thrive remains something Spears says she never takes for granted. “I just was so happy to have her, but how in the world did God give her back?” she said.
The actress reflected on everything Maddie has accomplished since that frightening day, saying, “And then He gave her back in a way that she’s succeeding, she’s beautiful, she’s kind, she’s smart…”