"This Easter is the beginning of a new life for me," Kelly Stafford posts on Instagram with a smile and a teddy bear in her embrace as husband Matt wheels her toward a hospital exit.
The 29-year-old underwent lengthy surgery last Wednesday at Henry Ford Heakth System for removal of a noncancerous brain tumor called an acoustic neuroma.
"Now I am home and learning my new norm." (Photo: Instagram)
"When they opened me up, I had an abnormal vein -- maybe abnormal for other neurosurgeons, but not the one we chose," her social media update says. "He had seen it before and [had] written a paper on it."
Still, the already high tension ratcheted up. "A six-hour surgery went to 12 hours," the recovering patient reports, adding that waiting family members "were anxious and scared."
Stafford, whose spouse throws footballs for the Detroit Lions, thanks well-wishers "for all the prayers."
"They have worked. I know they have. . . . I’m beyond thankful. . . .
"Now I am home and learning my new norm. 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."
Her post attracts more than 2,500 comments and nearly 43,000 "likes" in the first two hours Sunday night.
The Staffords, married since 2015 after meeting at the University of Georgia, have three young girls -- 2-year-old twins Chandler and Sawyer, and 7-month-old Hunter. The family now has a reaon to celebrate Kelly's 30th birthday with relief and gratitude May 29.
In this photo below with her husband, she's accompoanied at left by her mother and brother, Buffalo Bills assistant coach Chad Hall.
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