Lions Quarterback Matthew Stafford’s Wife Says 'God Chose' Doctor Who Performed Her Brain Surgery

Jason Duaine Hahn
Updated
Matthew Stafford’s Wife Says 'God Chose' Doctor Who Performed Surgery

Kelly Stafford, the wife of Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford, publicly thanked the surgeon who performed her lifesaving brain operation last month.

In the time since doctors found a benign tumor resting on her cranial nerves, 29-year-old Stafford has regularly been open about her overwhelming anxieties leading up to a 12-hour operation to remove the mass, which included the risks she could lose her hearing function.

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,” according to Mayo Clinic.

“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t completely terrified of brain surgery. I am,” Stafford wrote in a post on April 3. “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.”

While the operation last month was a complete success, Stafford revealed in a post on Tuesday that, at one point during the surgery, she feared she had gone completely deaf. Her surgeon, Dr. B. Gregory Thompson from the University of Michigan, then took special care to temporarily stop the surgery in an effort to recover her hearing.

“There was a moment when they thought I might have lost my hearing completely,” Stafford wrote on Instagram, along with a picture of her husband and Thompson. “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!”

View this post on Instagram

I honestly don’t know where to start. This is him, the man God chose to remove my brain tumor. After my diagnosis, Matthew and I visited doctors all over the US. He made it a super easy decision after we met Dr. Thompson @ the U of M hospital. Dr. Thompson not only had done about 2000 acoustic neuroma cases & had published outstanding results when attempting to preserve facial & hearing function w/ the surgery, but....when I spoke w/ him, he reminded me of my dad. He truly cared & was empathetic, which meant so much to me. The 6 hr surgery turned to 8, then 10, then 12 hrs & he was constantly updating Matthew throughout. When he opened me up, he saw an ”anomalous” artery that is normally not there. In his 2000 cases, he had seen it ONE other time. BUT bc it was so rare, he & his team wrote a paper on it for other surgeons. Then, God sent him 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! Matthew said when Dr. Thompson came up to give him the run down, he was excited for how well it went & that it was a total “team victory” for which they hugged it out for a while. 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.. MVP’s of their craft. After the surgery, Dr. Thompson visited every day. When I ended up back in the hospital, he drove an hour from Ann Arbor to the hospital where I was to physically put eyes on me & make sure I was ok. His NP said he is like that for all his patients.. I mean how amazing is that? 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 u Dr. Thompson, thank u so much to u & your team.

A post shared by Kelly Stafford (@kbstafford89) on May 7, 2019 at 6:07am PDT

RELATED: Lions Quarterback Matthew Stafford’s Wife Returns Home After Brain Surgery to Remove Tumor

During the operation, Thompson discovered an ”anomalous” artery, Stafford explained, which he had only encountered one other time. But thanks to Thompson’s experience, “when he cut in to see the artery, he was confident & prepared,” Stafford said of the doctor. She went on to call the entire medical team her dream team version of the 1992 Chicago Bulls and “MVPs of their craft.”

“This is him, the man God chose to remove my brain tumor,” Stafford’s post continued. “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 u Dr. Thompson, thank u so much to u & your team.”

Since returning home from the surgery, Stafford has shared photos of herself resting at home with the couple’s young daughters, Chandler, Sawyer and Hunter, as well as another of her posing with Matthew, 31.

View this post on Instagram

A little update: I thought I could do it. They told me tapering off the steroids was going to be very difficult. The first picture was yesterday when I was on what I thought was my last day of steroids. I thought I could power through the pain and massive headaches that were challenging me throughout the day. I figured i could pull my strength from one of the strongest people I know, matthew. I told myself the pain would succumb to me, I wouldn’t succumb to it. I was so wrong. The pain got so far ahead of me I couldn’t keep anything down, including meds. I ended up in the ER very early this morning, back on steroids and pain medication. At first, I felt like I had failed, like I couldn’t handle it.. but what I really failed at was listening to my own body. A lesson I feel like I am going to have to keep reminding myself of. Thank you again for everything. I just wanted to give a little update. They will keep me here overnight just to monitor in hopes of going home in the morning.

A post shared by Kelly Stafford (@kbstafford89) on Apr 24, 2019 at 11:10am PDT

RELATED: Kelly Stafford Reunited with Her Kids After Hospitalization Following Brain Surgery: ‘So Grateful’

While the procedure was successful, Stafford admitted she has struggled with health issues post-operation.

“I thought I could power through the pain and massive headaches that were challenging me throughout the day,” she wrote on April 24. “I figured I could pull my strength from one of the strongest people I know, Matthew. I told myself the pain would succumb to me, I wouldn’t succumb to it.”