Former 49ers quarterback Alex Smith shared on Instagram this past weekend that his daughter, Sloane, needed an emergency craniotomy in May to remove a large brain tumor.
The operation, which Smith says took 10 hours, was a success: 100 percent of the brain tumor was removed.
"The 10 hour procedure was the most excruciating time of our lives," Smith wrote. "A clock has never moved so slowly. The incredible neurosurgeons @stanfordchildrens did a miraculous job and were able to remove 100% of the tumor."
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After Smith's daughter underwent further testing, doctors determined that the brain tumor was a "rare malignant tumor with very few documented cases," per Smith. Therefore, there is no direct path of treatment. Smith said the family is still waiting for results from a few more tests and plans to continue gathering opinions from doctors across the country to determine the next steps.
Through it all, though, Smith is extremely proud of the way his daughter has handled the entire process.
"All we know is what is most important -- and that’s SLOANE. She has healed from surgery. Back to her bubbly self. Singing, dancing, laughing and feeling good," Smith wrote.
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Smith ended his post with a lengthy message thanking everyone who has helped his daughter throughout this process.
"I know we don’t post much about our kids but we felt necessary to post this and say THANK YOU. Thank you to our amazing medical team, family, friends, acquaintances and even some strangers who have touched our lives in the last month and a half. We have struggled to keep up on calls, texts, communication and trying to keep loved ones updated. This has been by far the most challenging time we have EVER been through. We know it’s not over and we have a journey ahead of us, but without all of you we could not have gotten this far. We are sorry if we seem withdrawn. It’s because we are… We have been inundated with doctors appointments, scans, labs and trying our best to navigate through this. Most importantly, we’re healing together as a family."
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Smith, who announced his retirement from the NFL last summer, spent eight of his 16 years in the NFL with the 49ers. Selected first overall in the 2005 NFL Draft, Smith played 80 games for San Francisco and logged 14,280 passing yards, 81 touchdowns and 63 interceptions.
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