Wife of former UGA quarterback Matthew Stafford home after 12-hour surgery to remove brain tumor

The Easter weekend was an emotional one for the Stafford family, but Kelly Stafford back home and “learning the new norm.”

Stafford, a graduate of Wesleyan School in Norcross and wife of former University of Georgia quarterback Matthew Stafford, announced on Instagram that she had surgery to remove a brain tumor.

“This Easter is the beginning of a new life for me,” she wrote in her post. “I wanna take a second to thank all of you for all the prayers. They have worked. I know they have.” 

Stafford’s neurosurgeon detected an abnormal vein while conducting surgery, which lengthened the procedure from six hours to 12 hours. She is apparently recovering back at home with her family.

“Now I am home and learning my new norm,” she said. “It’ll take some time, but I really just wanted to say thank you. Thank you for all your support, thoughts and prayers. It means more than y’all will ever know. #cupscrew“

A video in Stafford’s most recent post shows her trying to walk in the hospital with her husband supporting her.

Stafford explained in an Instagram post on April 3 that she was experiencing symptoms of vertigo and spells of dizziness back in January. A scan of her brain revealed she had a tumor on some of her cranial nerves, a disease called acoustic neuroma or vestibular schwannoma. 

The Staffords met in Athens while both were students at UGA.

In three seasons at Georgia, Matthew Stafford threw for 7,731 yards, 51 touchdowns, and 33 interceptions, rushing for six touchdowns as well, leading his team to Chick-fil-A Bowl, Sugar Bowl and Capital One Bowl wins over Virginia Tech, Hawaii, and Michigan State.

In 2009, Detroit selected the Texas native as the number 1 pick in the NFL Draft.

Photo: @kbstafford89 on Instagram