It sounds like Jamie Lynn Spears can finally take a deep breath and relax.
The condition of the actress’ eight-year old daughter has markedly improved, following a frightening off-read vehicle accident on Sunday in Louisiana.
As previously detailed, Maddie Aldridge was reportedly taking her child’s version of an ATV for a ride around her family’s property when it flipped over and she ended up face down in a pond.
Neither Spears nor husband Jamie Watson, both of whom rushed over to help the child, were able to dislodge Maddie from her seatbelt as she lay submerged under water.
But paramedics soon arrived on the scene and freed the little girl.
They transported an unconscious Maddie to a nearby hospital, where she was placed in serious but critical condition.
On Monday morning, Jamie Lynn’s father asked fans to pray for Maddie.
A few hours later, Britney Spears also asked for prayers for her niece.
We can’t say for certain whether those pleas and subsequent prayers are the reason for the following piece of good news, but all that matters is this:
Maddie has regained consciousness. She’s awake and talking. She appears to be on the mend.
“Thank you everyone for the prayers. Maddie is doing better and better. Thank y’all so much,” Watson wrote alongside a picture on Instagram of a shirt that read “believe in miracles.”
And here is the statement provided to People Magazine by the hospital, via a Spears family representative:
“With her father, mother and stepfather by her side, Maddie regained consciousness mid-day Tuesday, Feb. 7.
The 8-year-old daughter of entertainer Jamie Lynn Spears was involved in an ATV accident at a family home Sunday in Kentwood, Louisiana. Paramedics resuscitated her and she was airlifted to a local hospital.
She is aware of her surroundings and recognizes those family members who have kept a round-the-clock vigil since the accident.”
The long-term prognosis also sounds positive.
“Doctors were able to remove the ventilator today and she is awake and talking,” reads the statement.
“Maddie continues to receive oxygen and is being monitored closely but it appears that she has not suffered any neurological consequences from the accident.”
Watson and Spears were monitoring the child on Sunday when she took a hard right turn in order to avoid a drainage ditch.
They saw the vehicle flip over and land in a pond; they simply could not undo Maddie’s seatbelt at the time.
Jamie Lynn made major headlines and was the subject of a lot of scorn when she announced she was pregnant with Maddie in 2007, at the age of 16.
She and ex Casey Aldridge welcomed their daughter in June of 2008 prior to breaking up in 2010.
Following the arrival of her only child, the ex-Zoey 101 star basicaly left Hollywood to raise her daughter in her hometown.
“She’s got such a sweet little heart,” Spears told People of her daughter last year, adding:
“I feel like I’ve raised her with a lot of honesty, but I’ve also raised her with a lot of love. She’s a very happy, content little girl, and there’s nothing more a parent could ask for.
“That’s my most proud accomplishment out of anything and always will be.”
We are SO very happy for Jamie Lynn and her family.
Here’s to a continued recovery by little Maddie.