Bravery, beauty and grace - all in one

[Neroon]

Stefanie Spielman, cancer fighter.

All of the exploits her husband Chris (a man I admire) performed on the football field don't even begin to pale in comparison to what Stefanie faced these past several years. But now the race is done, and her battle is over. Stefanie passed into the life triumphant today. Her battle was very public, and in part waged so that those conducted in private might gain support or attention or prayer or what was needed. Scarcely younger than I am, she achieved so much... and it was a life well lived.

 

[RJDiogenes]

That's very sad. She spent more than 25% of her life fighting cancer. But she also spent that time trying to help others. Definitely an admirable person.

RIP, Stefanie Spielman.

 

[Neroon]

Yeah, she had to fight this bastard 5 times. She may have started out getting the notoriety because she was the wife of a sports celebrity. However, it didn't take long before the attention focused on her. Chris, bless his heart, was the one who quit his pro football career to take care of her.

 

[Crusher Disciple]

Lots of strength and lots of beauty. The world needs more like her.

 

[Neroon]

During yesterday's Ohio St - Michigan football game, I noticed the OSU players all had a small decal on their helmets, near the bottom. On a closer shot,you could see it was "SS" - which stood for "Stefanie Spielman"

 

[Neroon]

From Peter King's MMQB column this week, a nice tribute to Stefanie.

2. I think if you want to be inspired, google Stefanie Spielman, the indomitable 42-year-old wife of Chris Spielman and mother of four who died of breast cancer last Thursday. And read. The story I most fondly remember from a 1998 profile of the Spielmans in Sports Illustrated is of her taking off a brown corduroy hat -- understand that she'd just met me -- at their kitchen table in Columbus. She was bald and pale. "Men go bald all the time,'' she said. "Why should I try to look like something I'm not? I'm sick.'' And for much of the next 11 years, she was ill too. Now Chris is left to be mom and dad to four children. He'll be great at it, but they'll have a hole they'll never fill. What an impressive woman she was.

 

[RJDiogenes]