Former NFL quarterback Alex Smith says he and his family live “scan-to-scan” as his seven-year-old daughter fights a brain tumor.
Smith’s daughter, Sloane, was diagnosed last year with the tumor that has sent her into seizures repeatedly, Smith told the New York Times.
Smith spoke of the emotional toll the medical crisis has taken on the family, saying, “It’s different when it’s your little girl, and you’re helpless with how terrifying that is.”
The former player himself suffered a serious medical crisis when he suffered a nearly career-ending injury when he was with the Washington Redskins.
During a game against the Houston Texans on November 18, 2018, Smith suffered a spiral and compound fracture to both bones in his right leg while being sacked by Kareem Jackson and J. J. Watt. It got worse from there as the player contracted necrotizing fasciitis that nearly caused the loss of his leg.
Washington Redskins quarterback Alex Smith (11) grimaces after being helped up after suffering a lower leg injury during a game between the Washington Redskins and the Houston Texans at FedEx Field on November 18, 2018, in Landover, MD. (John McDonnell/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
However, about two years later, he recovered enough to get back on the field and, in 2020, earned the “Comeback Player of the Year” award. He retired in 2021.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Facebook at: facebook.com/Warner.Todd.Huston, or Truth Social @WarnerToddHuston