Ex-NFL quarterback Alex Smith shares story of daughter's battle with rare brain tumor

Former NFL quarterback Alex Smith shared news on Saturday about his youngest child, who is recovering from brain surgery.

The Smith family said on Instagram that their daughter, Sloane, was rushed to the hospital last month with stroke-like symptoms.

"She had an MRI and the doctors quickly informed us she had a large brain tumor and needed an emergency craniotomy," the Smiths wrote, calling it a "very rare malignant tumor with very few documented cases – without a clear road map for treatment."

The family said surgeons at Stanford Children's Health successfully removed all of the tumor during the 10-hour operation

The Smiths noted their daughter had healed from surgery and was "back to her bubbly self. Singing, dancing, laughing and feeling good."

"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," the Smiths said. "We are sorry if we seem withdrawn.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."

The 38-year-old Smith had his own health scare in 2018 after he suffered a serious right leg injury while playing for Washington that almost led to amputation.

He came back to play in 2020, helped lead Washington to the NFC East title and won NFL Comeback Player of the Year. The No. 1 overall pick in the 2005 NFL draft, Smith retired in 2021.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Alex Smith's daughter recovering after having rare brain tumor removed