On a beautifully begun day, Mattie Jackson Selecman lost her husband, Ben.
The Labor Day holiday celebrations started on her famous father, Alan Jackson’s boat, as family and friends gathered to enjoy the Florida sunshine. As they basked in the joy of their first year of marriage, Mattie and Ben Selecman were also celebrating.
Selecman, 31, tells PEOPLE about her late husband Ben, whom she met while the two were both students at the University of Tennessee, “We were still in the honeymoon part of our life.” “Of all the people I’ve ever known, Ben had one of the biggest personalities. He made friends with everyone and was happy and upbeat.”
When Ben was celebrating that fateful day in late summer of 2018, Mattie couldn’t keep her eyes off him until the unimaginable occurred.
Regarding Ben’s fall, Mattie recalls that “he just slipped.” “He fell back and struck his head since the pier was damp. Although it was a lengthy fall, it was one of those situations where you could almost compare it to seeing someone play high school football in terms of how they recovered. They begin to stand back up while still conscious and may have a minor head injury.”
But it soon became apparent that this might be more serious than a simple concussion.
However, things got much worse from that point on. Surgeries and an 11-day medically induced coma were performed to stop what was happening.
But all was not hopeless. The choice was made to begin rousing Ben up with the help of medical professionals and family members.
But after a short while, it wasn’t. Ben experienced many strokes and significant brain damage due to a blood clot that had fragmented inside his head.
On Sept. 12, 2018, Ben Selecman passed away. Additionally, Mattie Jackson Selecman became a widow at the age of 28.
