Matthew Stafford has been Kelly Stafford’s rock during one of the toughest battles of her life. When she needed him the most, he didn’t think twice about putting her above his NFL career.
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“I mean, it gives, I had like chills,” Kelly Stafford said during the Rams vs. Bills game to ESPN. “He dropped everything and even was like, listen, I’ll, I’ll stop. Like, I want to take care of you. I want to be there for you. But it just, like, it tells you the man he is.”
It was a tough battle for both of them. In March 2019, Kelly Stafford experienced distressing symptoms and was later diagnosed with a benign brain tumor. Her symptoms started showing up in January that year, when she began experiencing dizziness. Later, the MRI revealed a tumor affecting nerves near her inner ear.
Kelly Stafford had surgery on April 17, 2019, which lasted for almost 12 hours instead of six because of an abnormal vein near the tumor.
After the surgery, Kelly struggled to walk at first but eventually regained her balance and recovered with Matthew Stafford’s support.
Following the surgery and recovery, Kelly Stafford shared how much Matthew supported her during this difficult time.
“Every day, Matthew would come and help me out of bed, walk to the sink, brush my teeth,” Kelly said to Local 4 back in September 2019.
She further explained how her family also stayed by her side.
“I could not have done it without this man next to me, but also without all the support of the people that are close to us. We had parents here, siblings here, my mom was here for a long time. Our nanny is exceptional. I trust her more with my kids than I trust myself,” Kelly said.
Matthew did everything in his control to support her. In April 2019, he missed the start of the Detroit Lions’ voluntary offseason workouts as Kelly prepared for brain surgery. During a pre-draft press conference, then Lions general manager Bob Quinn addressed Matthew’s absence and supported the quarterback’s decision to focus on his family.
“I’ve had a lot of conversation with Matt over the last few weeks. I would say that my prayers, and the organization’s prayers, are with him and his family and Kelly’s situation,” Quinn told reporters. “Out of respect for his he kind of wants to keep everything private, so I’m going to leave it at that.”
In his 2019 interview with The Ringer’s Kevin Clark, Matthew explained how he balanced his NFL duties with caring for Kelly during her recovery. He changed his offseason routine so he could finish his football work early in the morning while Kelly and their three children were still asleep. Stafford arrived at the Detroit Lions’ facility at 5 a.m. and completed his conditioning and film study before heading home.
Stafford usually returned home around 8 a.m., just as Kelly was waking up. This allowed him to spend time with his wife and take care of her.
Now, Stafford is in his 18th NFL season and continues to turn heads on the field. Unfortunately, Monday Night Football saw the Rams lose to the Buffalo Bills 37-34 in overtime. Still, Stafford had a strong performance. He completed 40 of his 54 passes for 383 yards and three touchdowns thrown without throwing an interception.