Priscilla Presley’s son Navarone Garcia suffered a near-fatal camel attack only days before Lisa Marie Presley died.
“We were petting them, and the next thing that happened was the camel bit him in the head,” Priscilla, 80, told People in an interview published on Friday, September 19, recalling that the pair were visiting an animal sanctuary in California’s San Fernando Valley the day the attack occurred. .
“There was blood spurting everywhere,” she recalled.“The blood was covering Navarone’s face. I’m literally freaking out. I thought I was going to lose him, for sure.”
Garcia, who Priscilla shares with ex-husband Marco Garibaldi, was eventually freed after a German Shepherd on the property lunged at the camel, which prompted the animal to let go.
“He was very, very lucky I was told,” Priscilla added. “The doctor said [the camel’s tooth almost hit] his brain. So, he’s not around anymore camels. Neither am I.”
Priscilla’s daughter Lisa Marie died on January 12, 2023, of a small bowel obstruction, just days before the near-fatal attack took place. Priscilla told the outlet that her son was a big reason why she was able to survive the loss of her daughter.
“My heart would be totally broken” if both had died so close together, she explained. “When I lost Lisa, I thought, ‘I’m not going to be able to get through this.’ But I realized I have a son that needs me. As a mom you have to be there for your children.”
She also shared that Garcia approached her for help with drug and substance addiction following the 2020 suicide death of Lisa Marie’s son, Benjamin Keough.
“I would be in bed with him, and he’d say, ‘My legs hurt, my legs hurt.’ I’d get up and massage his legs,” she said. “Now I know what it’s like with someone who goes through withdrawal. It’s horrible. A lot of people can’t get through it and go right back to it. It was hard.”
Garcia was 22 days sober before he relapsed on heroin.
“Finally one day he came to me and said, ‘Mom, I want to get off drugs. I don’t want to do this anymore. I don’t want to hurt you anymore. Will you help me?’” Priscilla also said. “I said, ‘I will absolutely help you.’ So, he stayed at my home and I slept with him every night, and he had withdrawals every night. I don’t wish that on anyone because there’s really nothing you can do. You can’t give them more drugs, that’s for sure. They have to go through it.”
If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, contact the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).