Priscilla Presley is no stranger to tragedy, but the death of daughter Lisa Marie Presley is a wound that remains unhealed.

Presley, who shared Lisa Marie with her former husband Elvis Presley, opened up about the emotional difficulties of her grief in an interview with People magazine published Wednesday, Sept. 17.

Lisa Marie Presley, the sole child of the rock 'n' roll icon Elvis Presley, died in January 2023 at the age of 54 after a brief hospitalization for an apparent cardiac arrest. An autopsy report later revealed that the singer-songwriter died of sequelae of small bowel obstruction, an intestinal blockage.

Per her autopsy, the medical condition is a common complication from bariatric surgery, a weight-loss procedure. The Mayo Clinic says it is often done when other weight loss methods haven't worked or if a person has a serious medical condition.

Presley told People she was informed of her daughter's health troubles by Lisa Marie Presley's ex-husband, Danny Keough.

"We were there all day long," Presley, 80, told the magazine of Lisa Marie's hospitalization. "Lisa really wasn't breathing, so she was on the ventilator. For hours we were there waiting, hoping and praying until the doctor came in and said, 'Priscilla, I'm so sorry, she's gone.'"

She added: "We just couldn't believe it — didn't want to believe it. It was hard on all of us, it still is."

Priscilla Presley reveals what makes her 'happy' after Lisa Marie Presley's death

The Presley family has faced loss over the years, and Priscilla Presley has weathered many of those storms.

Presley's ex-husband Elvis Presley, to whom she was married from 1967 to 1973, died in 1977 at the age of 42 after the singer was found unresponsive at Graceland, his famous mansion in Memphis, Tennessee.

Preliminary autopsy findings determined that the rocker's death was the result of a "cardiac arrhythmia," while a subsequent toxicology report found that Elvis' blood had extremely high levels of the opiates Dilaudid, Percodan, Demerol and codeine, as well as Quaaludes.

For Presley, daughter Lisa Marie Presley's death was just as devastating.

"It was the second saddest day of my life, other than losing Elvis," Presley told People magazine. "It took a long time to come to terms with the fact that Lisa was gone."

In addition to Elvis and Lisa Marie Presley's deaths, Presley's grandson Benjamin Keough, son of Lisa Marie, died by suicide in 2020 at the age of 27. Meanwhile, Priscilla's son Navarone Garibaldi, whom she shares with ex Marco Garibaldi, has previously struggled with drug addiction.

"It hasn't been easy at all," Presley reflected. "But you have to find strength."

Despite her grief, Presley said witnessing the growth of her family gives her hope, citing Navarone Garibaldi's recent sobriety and the motherhood journey of her granddaughter Riley Keough (Keough, Lisa Marie Presley's daughter, shares two children with husband Ben Smith-Petersen).

"That's what makes me happy: knowing everyone is doing well," Presley said.

Contributing: Marco della Cava and Olivia Munson, USA TODAY

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Why Lisa Marie Presley's death was 'the second saddest day' of Priscilla Presley's life

Reporting by Edward Segarra, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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