It’s the yearly reminder that I only get one life on this earth and to just enjoy it… and if ever something challenging or tough comes my way, to rely on the strength God gave me and the ones I love. Because in the end, it’s how you respond to those moments that builds character. So, thank you April 17 for helping mold the woman, wife, mom, daughter, sister, friend and everything else that I am today.
#anwarriorIn the years since Matthew Stafford was selected first overall in the 2009 NFL Draft, the quarterback has enjoyed a truly incredible amount of success. On top of everything that Matthew has accomplished in his career, he appears to have found a lot of happiness in his personal life as well. The couple started dating at Georgia where she was a cheerleader and he was a record-setting quarterback. They married in 2015.
Matthew met his wife Kelly Stafford, who has been called one of the hottest NFL WAGs, when he was attending the University. While that certainly doesn’t mean the Stafford’s
are in the running for the longest-lasting celebrity marriages, it certainly seems like their marriage is built to last.
With that in mind, it is easy to imagine how scary it would have been for the Stafford’s
to learn that Kelly had a brain tumor. With that in mind, it begs an obvious question,
what has happened to Kelly since her brain tumor was diagnosed?
Kelly Stafford has acoustic neuroma brain tumor: Here’s what it means (freep.com)
From the outside looking in, it seemed like Matthew and Kelly Stafford were leading
an idyllic life. Seemingly deeply in love since they met, Matthew & Kelly have walked
down the aisle and welcomed four children into the world.
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Unfortunately for the happy couple, in April 2019 Kelly uploaded a post on Instagram which revealed that she’d been diagnosed with a brain tumor. In her post, Kelly revealed how she came to realize something was wrong which led to her seeking answers.
“Within the last year, I began to notice things that I thought were just me getting older…
I would show my girls how to do a front roll or twirl in ballet class and immediately feel dizzy & off balance. The things I had been doing my entire life were now, all of a sudden, difficult.”
“The beginning of Jan was when I experienced my first spell of vertigo…
It kept happening & then it happened while I was holding Hunter.” Kelly continued, “Matthew took me straight to the ER. They checked vitals & bloodwork, all were fine… Several vertigo spells later, Matthew’s team doctor recommended we go get an MRI
of my brain to rule everything major out.”
After undergoing that MRI, Kelly got news that would scare anyone
even though lots of people have survived having brain tumors including Mark Ruffalo.
“A few days later we were hit with the results. I had a tumor sitting on some of my cranial nerves. The medical term they used was an acoustic neuroma or vestibular schwannoma. All I heard was brain tumor & that they had to do surgery to take it out… so that is what
we are going to do & we believe we found the best doctor to do it.”
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To Kelly’s eternal credit,
Her Instagram post made it clear that she was doing her best to stay positive about
her situation. Most notably, Kelly revealed the inspiring reason she insisted on taking
a picture with Matthew to commemorate the day they learned about her brain tumor.
Matthew Stafford and Kelly Stafford brain tumor reaction
© Provided by TheThings
“This is a picture of Matthew & I the day we found out. I wanted this picture of us,
so that the day this was all over, we could look back at this photo & remember.”
Despite trying to stay positive,
Kelly was willing to be vulnerable enough to write about her fears in her Instagram post. “I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t completely terrified of brain surgery. I am. I am terrified of them opening my head, I’m terrified of losing my hearing, I’m terrified of losing facial function.
I’m terrified of far worse things that could happen and I’m terrified that I won’t take the time I need to recover because the guilt I might feel of being absent from my kids for too long..” Finally, Kelly finished her Instagram post by asking her followers to pray for her and her family.
What Happened After Kelly Stafford’s Brain Tumor Diagnosis
Later the same month that Kelly Stafford revealed that she had a brain tumor, she followed up on Instagram to reveal that she’d undergone surgery to remove it. As it
turns out, Kelly’s follow-up post revealed that her brain surgery didn’t go as planned.
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Once Kelly’s surgery began, her surgeon discovered she had an “abnormal” vein in her skull. Fortunately for Kelly, she got very lucky as not only did her surgeon know how to handle the “abnormal” vein, he’d actually written a paper on it.
Thanks to her doctor’s expertise, he was still able to successfully complete her surgery,
but also took him twice as long. Needless to say, those twelve hours must have been excruciating for Kelly’s loved ones.
Kelly Stafford leaving the hospital© Provided by TheThings
Several months after Kelly’s surgery, she was interviewed by Click On Detroit.
During the resulting conversation, Kelly revealed a lot about her journey after she
found out about the brain tumor. For example, Kelly revealed how she broke down
after learning about the tumor and then realized she wasn’t alone.
“I remember sitting down with [Matthew] in the waiting room and just losing it.
Just thinking about our girls and the unknown. But I remember looking around
in that waiting room,” Stafford paused, with tears in her eyes.
“At all the other people sitting there waiting to get looked at.”
“I remember one girl had a scar on the back of her head that was pretty fresh.
And reminding myself that people go through this every day.” Kelly continued,
“It’s not just me. But it was just a really tough moment in my life but as I looked
around, I pulled strength from everybody in the room.”
Kelly revealed that feeling like she couldn’t help at home following her surgery was
the hardest part of the recovery process for her. “The hardest part about it was coming
home to a quiet home. I knew that’s what I needed, and I knew that’s what the doctor
said I needed. But when you go through this, the first thing I want to see are my kids.”
Matthew Stafford and Kelly Stafford© Provided by TheThings
“I’m re-learning how to move again. There would be nothing I could do for them.
Except for sitting there and watching them,” Kelly continued. “So, I knew that was what
I needed, and it wasn’t what I wanted. Every day, Matthew would come and help me out
of bed, walk to the sink, brush my teeth.”
“I’m normally very upbeat with my kids. I’m loud, that’s just who I am. I couldn’t get that energy up to be that mom that I normally am with them.” Kelly continued, “I felt like they read it immediately.” Most importantly, Kelly finished up the interview by revealing how her recovery was going at that time.
“I feel amazing,” Kelly said, adding she feels close to her old self. “The energy…they said it would take like a year for my energy to be back to what it really was. Your brain gets tired quicker because it’s trying to figure everything out. I push myself. I will try.
It’s because I have great support when I come home.”
Later in 2019, Stafford penned an essay about her recovery that was published on ESPN.com. In that piece, Kelly wrote about suffering hearing loss after her brain surgery and not being able to handle loud noises at that time. Furthermore, Kelly wrote about how difficult it was to attend her husband’s football games at that time.
“I’ve only gone to one football game this year. They’re exhausting for me — I mean,
I feel like Lions games are always exhausting for everybody, because every game they play,
I feel like it always comes down to the last play — but the noise and constant action would be tough for me.”
With that in mind, perhaps the best way to sum up how far Kelly has come since her surgery is to look at her Instagram account. After all, Kelly now regularly posts images
of the very busy life she shares with her husband and kids including several images of
her attending football games. What Happened To Matthew Stafford’s Wife After Her Mysterious Brain Tumor? (msn.com)
Kelly Stafford shares story of brain tumor diagnosis,
12-hour surgery (clickondetroit.com)
Kelly Stafford praises brain tumor doctor: ‘his patience saved my hearing’ and according
to doctors, the tumor that Stafford has developed in an area that is responsible for vital functions and is packed tight with nerves. “The most common symptom is tinnitus or a ringing in the ear, followed probably by hearing loss,” said Dr. Jack Rock, a neurosurgeon for Henry Ford Hospital. “The symptom that doesn’t happen slowly over time is vertigo.”
Vertigo was the symptom that alerted Kelly Stafford that there was a problem.
“It’s not a rare lesion, but it’s not common. It’s benign and it, in 95 percent of the cases, really mostly in the young people, you can live a completely normal life after surgery,” Rock said. Rock noted the biggest challenge with removing the tumor is making sure
the nerve that controls facial movements isn’t damaged.
“It’s challenging to take the tumor off without injuring the nerve.
Experienced surgeons can do this fairly reliably, very reliably, but it’s something that takes technical skill to do,” he said. Kelly Stafford praises brain tumor doctor ‘his patience saved my hearing’. On April 3, 2019, Kelly announced that she needed surgery to remove a tumor from her brain on her cranial nerves. She said the medical term doctors use was acoustic neuroma or vestibular schwannoma.
In an Instagram post Tuesday, she explained that after she was diagnosed, they visited doctors all over the country and found Dr. Thompson at the University of Michigan hospital. She wrote that he had worked on thousands of acoustic neuroma cases. “He reminded me of my dad,” she wrote. “He truly cared and was empathetic, which meant so much to me.”
MORE:
Kelly Stafford, wife of Lions QB Matt Stafford, to have brain tumor surgery
Kelly Stafford home after ‘abnormal vein’ during 12-hour brain surgery
Kelly Stafford returns to hospital for ‘pain and massive headaches’ after brain surgery
Kelly Stafford’s recovery from brain tumor — ‘My biggest fear is not being here’ (espn.com)
The regular six-hour surgery turned into a 12-hour process after doctors
found an abnormal vein. “In his 2000 cases, he had seen it ONE other time.
BUT because it was so rare, he & his team wrote a paper on it for other surgeons.
Then, God sent him to me & although surprised when he cut in to see the artery,
he was confident & prepared. He took his time & was patient.
There was a moment when they thought I might have lost my hearing completely.
He made everyone & everything stop, they all sat, & waited for some time… the audio
wave returned. His patience saved my hearing, as well as my face. You read right,
he PRESERVED MY HEARING!” she wrote.
Kelly Stafford recovering from complicated brain surgery:
‘Truly God’s work’ – WSB-TV Channel 2 – Atlanta (wsbtv.com)
Kelly Stafford’s message to women after brain tumor scare:
‘Listen to your body’ (clickondetroit.com)
Family over everything. Wife to an amazing man & mom of 4 girls
Who is Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford’s wife Kelly?
Kelly said Matthew told her that when Dr. Thompson gave him the rundown of what happened, he said it was a “team victory.” “He kept giving credit to his team which included, Dr. Telian (ENT), Dr. Joseph (neuro chief resident) Dr. Welch (ENT Fellow)
& Jane (Dr. Thompson’s NP). This team is my dream team… like the ‘92 bulls with
DR. Thompson as my MJ & Dr. Telian, my Scottie Pippen… MVPs of their craft.”
She said that Dr. Thompson visited every day and when she was forced to return to the hospital after the surgery due to pain and massive headaches, he drove an hour to make sure he saw her in person and check her out.
“I will forever be in debt to this man & his team. I can’t express how grateful
I am for him… his kindness, empathy, patience, knowledge, & steady hands.
Thank you Dr. Thompson, thanks so much to you & your team.”
I AM GRATEFUL TO BE ALIVE to Watch My Daughters Grow Up!
Kelly Stafford (@kbstafford89) | Instagram
#acousticneuromawarrior #staffordstrong
Podcast: @themorningafter.kellystafford
BONUS: Woman Declared Brain Dead Walks Out Of Rehab
An Answered Prayer (godupdates.com)