The family of former NFL quarterback Alex Smith shared an encouraging update Saturday on the condition of their six-year-old daughter, Sloane, following emergency brain surgery last month.
The Smiths disclosed in an Instagram post that Sloane, the youngest of Alex and wife Elizabeth’s three children and their only daughter, was rushed to Stanford Children’s Health on May 10 after exhibiting stroke-like symptoms. An MRI quickly discovered the presence of a large brain tumor which required an “emergency craniotomy.”
After a 10-hour procedure described by the Smiths as “the most excruciating time of our lives,” the surgeons managed to successfully remove 100% of the tumor. Now, over a month after her procedure, Sloane has, fortunately, fully healed from surgery.
“Sloane—in her true form—bounced back from brain surgery like a rockstar! She didn’t skip a beat,” the Smiths wrote before noting the “bubbly” six-year old is back to “singing, dancing, laughing and feeling good.”
The Smiths went on to thank the medical team who performed the operation and all of the people who supported them during this difficult time. The family also shared more details about Sloane’s tumor and next steps going forward.
“After weeks of waiting on pathology, we learned that Sloane’s tumor is a very rare malignant tumor with very few documented cases—without a clear road map for treatment. We are currently awaiting more tests and gathering as many opinions as we can from doctors across the country to decide the best path forward. We wish this were easy, clear-cut and someone gave us a how-to guide. It’s anything but that.”
As Smith displayed throughout his 15-year career, resilience is a trait that exists in spades within the Smith family. The former No. 1 pick suffered a horrific right leg injury in 2018 that led to 17 surgeries, and nearly cost him a limb and his life. After enduring a near two-year rehab, Smith returned in 2020 and went on to win Comeback Player of the Year before eventually retiring in April.
With a long road now ahead of them, the Smith family closed their post with a message displaying their collective resilience.
“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 We are sorry if we seem withdrawn.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.”
