Kelly Stafford, wife of Detroit Lions quarterback Matt Stafford, has urged her fellow mothers to make time for their own self care as she continues to recover after having major surgery to remove a brain tumor.
Former cheerleader Kelly, 29, confessed that she initially ignored telling signs, like feeling dizzy and lightheaded, putting her weak spells down to caring for three daughters under the age of two.
Now, six months since her 12-hour surgery to remove a benign tumor known as acoustic neuroma, Atlanta, Georgia-born Kelly has spoken out to urge other busy young moms to ‘take some time to make sure you are OK’.
Health: Kelly Stafford, pictured with her Detroit Lions star husband Matthew, opened up about her brain tumor surgery in a bid to encourage other moms to prioritize their health
Journey: Kelly, 29, underwent surgery in April to remove a benign brain tumor called acoustic neuroma, which threatened to leave her without her hearing if left untreated
Recovery: Six months post-surgery, Kelly, pictured with her young family and Matthew on July 4 2019, wanted to encourage other busy moms to ‘make sure they are OK’
In a personal essay penned for ESPN, Kelly said, ‘If there’s anything I want people to take away from my story, it’s for mothers.’
‘If you ever feel the slightest bit off, you need to take the time to get it checked out. You don’t have to put everything on your back. Sometimes, you need to take some time to make sure you are OK.’
Kelly added gravely that if she had of put things off any longer, she would have lost her hearing.
Kelly went into detail about ignoring the tell-tale signs that something was off.
She recalled, ‘The first moment I was really concerned was last January. I was in Michigan, and had just gotten a massage. When I walked out, I just didn’t feel right.
Busy mom: Kelly said being a mom to three girls (she is pictured in 2017 with her then-newborn twins Sawyer, left, and Chandler, right) kept her so busy she put off getting her health checked
Post-surgery: Kelly, pictured with Matthew and her parents, shared this photo to Instagram in April, revealing that she had underwent the 12-hour surgery to remove the rare tumor
‘I was lightheaded and it felt like the world was spinning around me. I texted Matthew: “I might need you to come pick me up.” But then I waited a little bit in my car, and started feeling better, so I drove home myself.’
However, one week later, Kelly felt lightheaded again but this time she was holding her infant daughter Hunter, one.
‘The room started spinning around me and I felt like I was going to fall down. I almost threw Hunter to Matthew, because I didn’t want her to go down with me.’
‘Looking back, there were other moments over the past year where I was feeling off,’ Kelly added.
‘Like when I would show my girls how to do a front roll or twirl in ballet class, then immediately felt dizzy, or like I couldn’t balance. I mean, those were things I had done my entire life, and suddenly they were difficult.
‘Maybe I’m just aging, I had figured at the time. My mom quickly shot that down. I wasn’t even 30.’
While Florida-native Matthew, 31, urged Kelly to get checked out, but being so busy caring for her three young daughters, she put things off.
‘As a mom, you’re always on the run. You’re chasing after your kids or worrying about your family. You tend to put yourself on the back burner. So I didn’t feel the urgency to go to the doctor,’ she wrote.
As well as baby Hunter, Kelly and Matthew are also parents to identical twins, Sawyer and Chandler, two.
The day she almost dropped Hunter, she was due to go to California on a family vacation. While she initially thought she was too busy to go to the ER, she went to get checked out before the flight.
Young: A leading doctor, Jennifer Ashton, said that Kelly is incredibly young to have had an acoustic neuroma as the average age of diagnosis is 50
‘My blood work looked great. My vitals were fine. Doctors offered to do an MRI, but I said I didn’t have time. So they gave me Antivert, which is a medicine for vertigo, and we left for vacation. The problem was, the medicine wasn’t having any effect on me.’
While in California, Kelly scheduled an MRI after Matthew talked to the Lions’ team doctor about what was going on.
Kellt wrote that she was terrified when she received the results.
‘A few days after the MRI, we got the results. The medical term was an acoustic neuroma or vestibular schwannoma. There was a tumor sitting on some of my cranial nerves. I was told I needed to have surgery to remove it. And I was terrified.’
‘Not at first. At first, we didn’t have any idea of where this was going to go, and we just needed to figure out how to deal with it.
‘But as the day went on, my fears started to show themselves. What if this thing gets taken out and something goes wrong? What if something happens before that? My biggest fear is not being here, and not being here to raise my girls.’
Social media: Kelly shared this image to Instagram, taken the day she found out she had a brain tumor
Exhausted: The Georgia-native posted this photo in May describing how ‘exhausted’ she was in hospital after the surgery
When the surgery was scheduled for April, Kelly was told that there was a 50 per cent chance she would lose her hearing.
Thankfully, everything went as planned and Kelly praised her doctor, Dr Greg Thompson, for his patience.
‘I can’t say enough good things about him. A few times, he stopped the surgery because my audio waves went dead. His patience is what saved my hearing. He made everyone stop and wait until the wave return.
She continued, ‘Matthew told me, “If it’s good news after the surgery, I’ll be standing on your right side. If it’s bad news, I’ll be on your left.” I don’t remember much after waking up, but I do know he was standing on my right side.’
Support: Kelly, pictured in 2015 before their wedding, said quarterback Matthew was her rock during recovery
After surgery, Kelly had to relearn how to walk with the help of a physical therapist – something that she initially couldn’t manage.
‘I remember looking at her and I was like, “Nope.” I felt dizzy just sitting, there was no way I was getting up. I felt really defeated that day. She said she would come back tomorrow. I was dreading it, dreading it all morning, waiting for her to come back.
‘I grew up playing so many sports, putting one foot in front of the other should be second nature for anybody. But for me at that point, it was really tough,’ Kelly continued.
Not being able to see her daughters for two weeks after surgery was also a difficult part of the recovery, but she praised her husband for his selfless care throughout.
Surgery: Kelly, pictured with husband Matthew, left, shared this video of herself relearning how to walk post-surgery
Praise: Kelly, pictured with Matthew, praised Dr Thompson for being ‘patient’ during her surgery and saving her hearing
‘Incredible’: Kelly said her longtime love Matthew, pictured, was ‘incredible’ during her recovery
‘Matthew was incredible during the whole process. He was literally by my side at every step,’ she said.
Kelly admits she sometimes ‘still has bad days’, but in the last six months she has taken to boxing for exercise.
‘Boxing is the best workout I can do. It’s not only so tiring physically, but for me, it’s exhausting mentally.
Lows: Kelly said the hardest part of recovery was not being able to see her three young daughters while she remained in hospital
Recovery: The mom-of-three, pictured earlier this year after her surgery, said she still has some ‘hard’ days where she is ‘foggy’
‘My brain is having to figure out all these moving parts… and at a very fast pace. Sometimes I get dizzy, but I know that’s my brain learning and it’s good for me to push it,’ she wrote recently on Instagram.
Donation: Kelly took to Instagram to thank the Detroit Lions team for donating to the Acoustic Neuroma Associatio
Football games, or anywhere that involves loud crowds, are no longer a major part of Kelly’s life.
‘I’ve only gone to one football game this year. They’re exhausting for me…but the noise and constant action would be tough for me.
‘This football season, in general, feels different for us. We have a different outlook.
‘Matthew is still going out there and doing everything he can for the team, but going through this, you realize that in the end, family is the only thing you have,’ she said.
‘These days, I feel pretty good. Days are longer. Some days are hard – some mornings I wake up a little foggy, and know I have to take the day a little slower.
‘It’s rarer for me to get dizzy. Background noise can be tough (but also good – sometimes I don’t hear what I don’t want to hear).’
‘I’ll probably look into hearing aids for safety reasons soon. I do hope to go to football games again, but I don’t want to injure the ear we worked so hard to save,’ she added.
‘The doctors said it would take about a year for me to feel symptom-free and have the same energy I had before. October 17 marks six months. I’m really excited to hit that marker.’