When newly-minted Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Nick Foles missed several practices due to "personal reasons," there weren't many details given by Jags head coach Doug Marrone. He simply added, "Our thoughts and prayers are with Nick and his family. He knows, like anything else, that we're here for him."
It turns out that the Super Bowl MVP and his wife Tori Foles were going through something that makes football completely irrelevant right now.
In an emotional Instagram post, Tori Foles announced that she suffered a miscarriage. Foles was 15 weeks pregnant with the couple's second child, a boy, when "sudden labor" began early Sunday morning. Foles said she "knew something was wrong" right away.
"To fully labor and deliver and even see our baby boy was a pretty devastating process. Come to find that I had contracted an infection of pneumonia in the blood. The emotions go back and forth from immense and overwhelming sadness, confusion and anger to a firm belief that God has this fully in his hands and will use this for good. We cannot always understand or explain, but we know that is true.
"We've endured some unique challenges as a couple so far, but never quite knew what something like this felt like and now we do. We have so much compassion and sensitivity to those who have gone through a miscarriage at any point and in any circumstance. We know they all happen very differently."
— Tori Foles, via Instagram
Foles thanked the staff at the Baptist Beaches Hospital, as well as a pair of close friends who were with the family over a four-day stretch at the hospital.
Tori Foles is back home resting, but added that recovering from the traumatic loss will obviously take some time.
In an incredible showcase of resolve, the star NFL quarterback returned to Jacksonville's practice on Thursday as OTAs continue at Dream Finders Homes Practice Complex outside TIAA Bank Field.
It's impossible to imagine what this experience is like without going through it ourselves. The courage it takes for both Nick and Tori to move forward after a rough couple days, especially being a family in the public eye, cannot be understated. We wish nothing but good thoughts and a speedy recovery to Tori, and all the good fortune in the world to the couple moving forward.
