Kelly Stafford, Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford‘s wife, has been diagnosed with a brain tumor and will undergo surgery, she announced in an emotional Instagram post on Wednesday. Earlier this year, the 29-year-old began to experience severe bouts of vertigo while spending time with the couple’s two daughters, Chandler and Sawyer. Get push notifications with news, features and more. “I began to notice things that I thought was just me getting older,” wrote Kelly, who also shares a son, Hunter, with Matthew. “I would show my girls how to do a front roll or twirl in ballet class and immediately feel dizzy & off balance… Things that I had been doing my entire life were now, all of a sudden, difficult.” The symptoms eventually led Kelly to have an MRI on her brain at the recommendation of a Lions team doctor, and the scan revealed she had a benign tumor, known as an acoustic neuroma, on her cranial nerves. In order to remove the tumor, doctors recommended Kelly have surgery — which has left her “completely terrified.” “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,” she said. “I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t completely terrified of brain surgery. I am.” She added: “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… I am telling y’all this to ask for prayers and support.” Surgery for acoustic neuroma typically is performed under anesthesia, and “involves removing the tumor through the inner ear or through a window in [the] skull,” Mayo Clinic explained. RELATED: Detroit Lions Quarterback Matthew Stafford and Wife Kelly Welcome Twin Girls “The entire tumor may not be able to be completely removed in certain cases. For example, if the tumor is too close to important parts of the brain or the facial nerve,” a page on the clinic’s website reads. “Sometimes, surgical removal of the tumor may worsen symptoms if the hearing, balance or facial nerves are damaged during the operation.” Kelly’s surgery will occur sometime in the next two weeks. Falcons Lions Football, Detroit, USA - 24 Sep 2017 Credit: AP/REX/Shutterstock The Lions — which Matthew, 31, joined in 2009 — issued a statement on social media following the news. “The Detroit lions fully support Kelly, Matthew and the entire Stafford family during this difficult time,” the team stated. “Over the year, their selfless commitment to helping others and improving the communities in which we live and work has made a lasting impact on the lives of so many. We thank everyone for the outpouring of support.” In her post, which has received more than 68,000 likes and dozens of comments from well-wishers, Kelly asked for prayers of support heading into her operation. RELATED: Preschool Teacher with Brain Tumor Who Was Given a Week to Live Is Now Thriving “Things to pray for: calmness in these next 2 weeks as I know anxiety will run high in myself & my whole family leading up to the day of surgery,” she wrote, “that God be in the room with the surgeons & give them all the guidance, steadiness, & confidence they need. My safety during and after surgery.<doc-sep>Getty Images Kelly Stafford, the wife of Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford, has announced on social media that she has a brain tumor. She explained that she will undergo surgery soon to have the tumor removed. The tumor is benign, but the surgery carries significant risks. And Kelly Stafford understandably is scared about those risks, especially with three young children who need her. Kelly and Matthew Stafford began dating while they were both students at the University of Georgia, and they married in 2015. “I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t completely terrified of them opening my head,” Kelly Stafford wrote on Instagram. “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. . . . I am telling y’all this to ask for prayers and support.” We wish Kelly and Matthew the best at this difficult time, and we encourage the full community of NFL fans to give them the prayers and support they need in the coming weeks.<doc-sep>Matthew Stafford's wife Kelly announced on Wednesday she is undergoing surgery to remove a brain tumor. Kelly Stafford said she experienced spells of vertigo in January and then underwent an MRI following advice from the Lions' team doctor. The results revealed a "tumor sitting on some of my cranial nerves," per Stafford. "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," Stafford wrote on Wednesday. The Staffords met while Matthew was a quarterback at Georgia. They got married in 2015, and had twin girls in 2017. Their third daughter was born in August 2018. Matthew Stafford has been Detroit's starting quarterback since being selected with the No. 1 overall pick in 2009 NFL draft. He has thrown for 38,526 yards and 237 touchdowns in 141 career games.<doc-sep>
Kelly Stafford, the wife of Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford, revealed Wednesday she will undergo surgery after being diagnosed with a brain tumor. Kelly detailed on Instagram where her health troubles began, saying Matthew had rushed her to the ER earlier this year following a spell of vertigo. “This is a picture of Matthew & I the day we found out,” Kelly began. “I said I wanted this picture of us, so that the day this was all over, we could look back at this photo & remember. “Within the last year, I began to notice things that I thought was 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… Things that I had been doing my entire life were now, all of a sudden, difficult.” After initial vitals and blood work checked out, Kelly, who shares three daughters with Stafford, said the vertigo spells continued, which prompted her to schedule an MRI exam. “Matthew’s team doctor recommended we go get an MRI of my brain to rule everything major out. A few days later we were hit with the results,” Kelly said, with the doctors finding a tumor sitting on her 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.” Acoustic neuroma, also known as vestibular schwannoma, is defined as a “noncancerous and usually slow-growing tumor that develops on the main (vestibular) nerve leading from your inner ear to your brain,” according to the Mayo Clinic, which also notes that “branches of this nerve directly influence your balance and hearing, and pressure from an acoustic neuroma can cause hearing loss, ringing in your ear and unsteadiness.” “I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t completely terrified of brain surgery,” Stafford said. “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.. I am telling y’all this to ask for prayers and support.” Kelly went on to thank fans for their well wishes, which included encouraging words from ESPN’s Sam Ponder, who also endured a medical scare not so long ago. “Praying for you today and every day through your surgery. Thanks for sharing with everyone… your openness and honesty helps so many people. You are so strong mama💪🏼💪🏼❤️❤️,” Ponder posted.