DETROIT – Kelly Stafford is slowly returning to her normal life after a life changing diagnosis earlier this year.
Kelly, the wife of Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford, was diagnosed with acoustic neuroma, a slow-growing tumor on the main nerve leading from the inner ear to the brain.
More: Kelly Stafford shares story of brain tumor diagnosis, 12-hour surgery
The road to recovery has been long and it's still continuing today. But through it all, Kelly says she's learned a lot -- especially about listening to her own body.
"You have to listen to your body and you have to -- if something feels even a little bit off -- the worst thing they can tell you are that your fine," Stafford said.
"Moms just get so busy with their kids and making sure their days are run. They never take time to take care of themselves. I feel like it's so important to really know yourself and know your body. Know if there's something that feels just a little bit off to just go in and get it checked out real quick. It can take 5 minutes at a medical clinic to make sure that everything is okay."
Matthew said watching Kelly go through it all was inspiring.
"It was, and still is, incredibly impressive. Just how she handled the whole thing. Not even going through the surgery and coming out of it and recovering. But inspiring a bunch of people along the way. She's an incredible role model to our girls and a bunch of little girls out there," Matthew said.
"I'm just really proud of her. I didn't do much to help her out. She did an awesome job. In a small tiny way, I know how scary and frustrating injuries can be. And not knowing what's going to happen when you come out of surgery. But I can't imagine having my skull cracked open and to just watch her go through that and how steady she was impressive."