Wife of former UGA Quarterback Stafford to have surgery to remove brain tumor

(FOX 2 Detroit) - The wife of former University of Georgia and current Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford announced on social media Wednesday that she will have surgery to remove a brain tumor.

Kelly Stafford wrote in a lengthy Instagram post that an MRI found a tumor on her cranial nerves. She says the medical term doctors uses was acoustic neuroma or vestibular schwannoma.

"Within the last year, I began to notice things that I thought was just me getting older," she wrote. "I would show my girls how to do a front roll or twirl in ballet class and immediately feel dizzy & off balance... Things that I had been doing my entire life were now, all of a sudden, difficult."

Stafford says it was the beginning of January when she experienced her first vertigo spell. Then it happened when she was holding Hunter, the youngest of her three daughters. She says Matthew immediately took her to the Emergency Room, but vitals and bloodwork can back clear.

Several vertigo spells later, Stafford says her husband's team doctor recommended they get an MRI. The results came back and she announced Wednesday that she'll be having surgery, and believes they found the best doctor to do it.

"I'd be lying if I said I wasn't completely terrified of brain surgery. I am. I am terrified of them opening my head, I'm terrified of losing my hearing, I'm terrified of losing facial function, 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 guilty I might feel of being absent from my kids is for too long," she wrote.

Stafford says she shared the news to ask for prayers and support.

"Please pray for Matthew as I know his nerves will be high during this surgery," she said.

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

In three seasons at Georgia, 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.

Read the entire post below: