Former United States soccer star Lauren Holiday (née Cheney) was six months into her pregnancy when doctors discovered a benign tumor on the right side of her brain. Now, five months after her daughter, Jrue Tyer, was born and her tumor was successfully removed, the athlete is crediting her child with helping her get through the tough times.
“I have never quite known suffering like I experienced the last 6 months,” Lauren, 29, captioned a photo of her smiling daughter being held up by Lauren’s husband, NBA player Jrue Holiday. “I can remember countless nights repeating ‘there may be pain in the night but joy comes in the morning.’ I remember half believing it and half still in disbelief that this was my life. I memorized scripture and some days my faith felt unshakable and others I was scared to death.”
The former member of the U.S. women’s national soccer team continued, “Every time I see this smile I’m reminded that joy does come in the morning. Maybe not the next day, maybe not even the next month but it comes. I can’t imagine what heaven will be like if this is the joy I get to experience on earth.”
Jrue announced in September that he would not be with the New Orleans Pelicans at the start of the 2016-2017 season in order to help his wife though her recovery.
“My family comes before basketball,” Jrue, 26, told NOLA.com. “I’m obviously blessed to play this game and be in the position I am in, but my wife is the most important thing in the world to me. She comes before anything else.”
ABC News reports Lauren’s brain tumor, known as a meningioma, was diagnosed when she began experiencing painful headaches while she was pregnant with Jrue Tyler.
“Lauren has her good days and her bad days; some are better than others,” Jrue told NOLA.com. “She’s obviously a fighter, the toughest woman I know. That’s the reason why I married her.”
According to ABC News, doctors induced labor early to expedite Lauren’s brain surgery, which was successfully performed at Duke University Hospital in October.
Lauren and Jrue met when they were students at UCLA and were married in July 2013. Lauren is a two-time Olympic gold medalist after victories in Beijing and London with the U.S. women’s soccer team. She retired last summer so she and Jrue could start a family, according to NOLA.com.
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