KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Former Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith and his wife Elizabeth posted a statement to Instagram Saturday about a recent surgery their daughter Sloane underwent to remove a malignant brain tumor.
The family took Sloane to the emergency room on May 10 after she was displaying stroke-like symptoms. After an MRI, it was revealed to be a brain tumor, according to the Smith family's post.
Sloane underwent a 10-hour emergency craniotomy procedure where the surgeons at Stanford Children’s Health in Palo Alto, California, were able to remove 100% of the tumor, per the post.
The family learned after the pathology came back that Sloane had a “very rare malignant tumor with very few documented cases." Their post mentions they are “awaiting more tests and gathering as many opinions as we can from doctors across the country to decide the best path forward.”
“She has healed from surgery. Back to her bubbly self. Singing, dancing, laughing and feeling good,” the Smiths posted.
Alex Smith was originally drafted first overall by the San Francisco 49ers and played there from 2005 until 2012. He was traded to the Kansas City Chiefs in 2013 and spent five seasons with the team before he was traded to Washington.
He retired from the NFL in April 2021 after a comeback from a spiral and compound fracture in his right leg on Nov. 18, 2018. Smith underwent 17 surgeries before publicly sharing details on Feb. 1, 2020.
Smith was named the NFL’s Comeback Player of the Year after his 2020 season with Washington.
