LA Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford’s wife, Kelly, has penned an emotional message, saying it’s ‘ok to not be ok’ following Buffalo Bills star Damar Hamlin’s cardiac arrest.
The Bills safety, 24, suffered cardiac arrest on the field after a big tackle on Cincinnati Bengals receiver Tee Higgins.
Hamlin is said to be ‘trending upwards’ now, after being resuscitated twice but remains sedated in the ICU some 36 hours after the incident.
LA Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford’s wife, Kelly (right), penned an emotional message, saying it’s ‘okay to not be ok’ following Buffalo Bills star Damar’s cardiac arrest Hamlin
Damar Hamlin remains hospitalized after suffering cardiac arrest on the field Monday night
In an emotional Instagram post following the terrifying incident, Kelly, 33, offered prayers for Hamlin and his family, while speaking to fellow NFL stars’ wives and insisting it’s okay to to them to be weak.
‘To all the women with significant others playing in that field.. I’m with you if you’re not ok,’ Kelly wrote.
‘I’m not ok and I keep asking myself difficult questions. I wish someone could promise us that the people we love will be those people when they finish playing this game, but we all know, that’s a promise that can’t be made.
Kelly, 33, offered prayers for Hamlin and his family in a raw message shared on Instagram
The QB’s wife also spoke to the wives of other NFL stars, saying it’s okay to be vulnerable.
‘We all know how hard our men work and strive their whole lives to be in that field and we don’t take those dreams for granted.. however that doesn’t mean we always have to be strong/unbreakable support . It’s ok to be vulnerable and talk about it, especially with the man you love the most.’
Kelly, whose brother, Chad Hall, is a Buffalo Bills wide receivers coach, added that he continues to lift Hamlin up in prayer while he remains in the ICU.
‘Damar was continually raised in prayer. Continue to lift up his family, friends, and colleagues in prayer. And I will continue to pray for all of you,’ added the mother of four. ‘It’s ok not to be ok.’
Kelly, who runs a podcast called ‘Morning After’ that often discusses off-field issues around the NFL, also posted on his Instagram story that it was ‘nearly impossible’ to record a episode the morning after Hamlin’s crash.
She shared a clip of her stretching in front of her mic, writing: ‘6.30am podcast is hard.. but when it seems like it doesn’t matter because of what happened last night.. it makes it almost impossible. I did my best y’all but my mind was all over the place.’
The Georgia native’s brother is Buffalo Bills wide receivers coach Chad Hall (pictured)
He added that it was ‘nearly impossible’ to record his podcast the day after Hamlin’s crash
The 33-year-old regularly attends her husband’s games with their four daughters
Kelly has regularly spoken out about player safety around the league on social media in the past, most recently on this season’s concussion protocol.
After her Super Bowl-winning husband entered the protocol in November, she took to Instagram again to show how ‘sad and upset’ she was about the situation.
Kelly, who has four daughters with the quarterback, twins Chandler and Sawyer, 5, Hunter, 3, and Tyler, 2, said he was ‘not okay’ and emotional.
The Georgia native called for better safety precautions, including switching out turf for grass, as he reposted a message written by Green Bay Packers linebacker De’Vondre Campbell on Twitter.
Stafford entered the concussion protocol in November following the Rams’ loss to Tampa Bay
The former cheerleader took to Instagram in November to share a statement expressing how ‘angry and worried’ she was about her husband entering the protocol
The couple shares twins Chandler and Sawyer (above and below right), 5, Hunter (above left), 3, and Tyler (below left), 2,
The Georgia native also reported a Tweet from Green Bay Packers linebacker De’Vondre Campbell who called for the League to move off the turf because it looks like ‘concrete’
Campbell’s tweet read: ‘I think it’s time for you to take some of the money you make from us and invest in grass fields for every team around the league. Turf is literally like concrete. It ain’t got nothing to give when you plant @NFL.’
The former UGA cheerleader wholeheartedly agreed with Campbell’s message with a statement of her own in the caption.
He wrote: ‘Yes. Yes. Yes. A million yeses.’
Stafford, née Hall, has long cheered on her husband, who started out as a cheerleader on his football team at UGA.
The pair were together when Matthew was drafted first overall by the Lions in 2009, with Kelly entering the workforce as a nurse.
She has been cheering on her husband for a long time, starting out as a cheerleader to his football player
Kelly and their daughters regularly show up in team colors to cheer on Stafford and the Rams
Matthew proposed in 2014, and in 2015 the lovebirds tied the knot at the Foundry at Puritan Mill in Atlanta, Georgia. The extravagant affair included personalized neon trucker hats for guests, as well as a Nike shoe bar — the brand sponsors Matthew — which gave away free shoes to all in attendance.
Kelly is no stranger to head related injuries. He had surgery in 2019 to remove a brain tumor.
Just 29, she revealed on Instagram that she had been suffering from vertigo for months before being diagnosed with a non-cancerous mass known as an acoustic neuroma, which sits on a nerve that exits directly from the brain.
In April 2019, she underwent a 12-hour procedure. Days later, he returned to the hospital in pain.
The recovery was not easy and in September 2020, he announced that he was still learning to walk again.
In 2019, she revealed on Instagram that she had been suffering from vertigo spells for months before being diagnosed with a non-cancerous mass known as an acoustic neuroma.
He underwent a 12-hour procedure. Days later, he returned to the hospital in pain
