Matthew Stafford’s Wife Kelly Stafford Shares ’14-Day Post Op’ Photo Following Brain Tumor Surgery

Kelly Stafford, wife of Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford, is sharing an update with fans and followers as she recovers from brain tumor surgery.

The 29-year-old mother of three underwent a 12-hour surgery on April 21 for an acoustic neuroma, a slow-growing tumor on the main nerve leading from the inner ear to the brain. Stafford returned to the hospital for additional treatment the following Wednesday, but has since been released and is back home with her family as she recuperates from the surgery.

While Stafford did not go into depth about the procedure, she did share an update with a photo to her Instagram prefaced by “Day 14 post op, revealing how the tumor “wiped out” the balance system on her right side, and is limiting her medication to Tylenol.

“I’ve been off steroids for two days now. Feels good to be off of those meds. A few Tylenol’s here and there, but that’s it,” she wrote. “I have realized my mornings are better than my afternoons so I have been trying to take advantage. I try to get out of the house, do a “balance driven” workout, and do my brain exercises.. that takes about an hour and honestly, after that, I’m exhausted.”

Stafford adds that the rest of her day is spent on the couch with her kids, which she can’t describe “how grateful” she is for now that she’s home.

“That’s where I’m at and although it’s hard as hell to feel lazy all afternoon, it’s what my mind and body are calling for right now,” she wrote. “Knowing each day my energy, balance, dizziness and nausea will get better so always looking forward to tomorrow.”

Stafford added the hashtag for “Brain Tumor Awareness Month” and “warrior.”

The Lions’ quarterback’s wife also gave a shoutout to her mother, whom she called the “real MVP.”

Stafford broke the news of her tumor April 3, revealing to fans of the tumor that she had begun to “notice things” and likened it all to age. However, when she would spend time with their children and show them how to do front rolls and twirls in ballet class, she would “feel dizzy” and “off balance.”

However, it was the beginning of January when she first experienced a vertigo spell that pushed her into the ER — something that she adds “kept happening,” even when she held their children. After Matthew took her to ER, Stafford wrote that it was just a few days later that they were hit with the results.

“I had a tumor sitting on some of my cranial nerves,” she wrote. “The medical term they used was an acoustic neuroma or vestibular schwannoma. All I heard was brain tumor [and] that they had to do surgery to take it out.. so that is what we are going to do [and] we believe we found the best doctor to do it.”

After being reunited with her children, Stafford shared with PEOPLE how she is now working to retrain her body after being used to living an active lifestyle.

“It’s tough to go from a very active woman to having to relearn the basics of being an athlete, but these little girls give me so much strength. I want to be able to teach them every sport I learned and the day they beat me… I’ll humble them by reminding them I’m only working with one side of my brain,” she wrote.

Photo credit: Instagram / Kelly Stafford