Michael Strahan’s greatest victory did not come on the gridiron- the Hall of Famer defensive end for the New York Giants will surely say that after what the family went through from the fall of 2023 till the summer of 2024. Fresh out of high school, Michael’s daughter Isabella had just started her journey at the University of Southern California. Just 50 days into that chapter, fate had the worst in store for her and the family. Isabella started experiencing nausea, dizziness, and debilitating headaches, and at one point, started throwing up blood. During those initial days of distress, Isabella turned to none other than her twin sister Sophia.

She confided in her, who was then a freshman at Duke University. “I was the one who told our parents (Michael and former wife, Jean Muggli) first,” says Sophia, “because Isabella called and said she was throwing up blood.” It was Sophia who then convinced Isabella to head to the ER where the rest of the family met her. A scan revealed that Isabella had a fast-growing tumor in her cerebellum, the part of the brain that controls balance and coordination. “They said no need for a second opinion. We should just go in,” Michael could recall the doctors’ words.

So a day before her 19th birthday, Isabella went under the knife for an emergency brain surgery. Two more surgeries followed to clean out an infection around the surgical site and replace part of her skull with a titanium mesh plate, along with six weeks of radiation and four rounds of chemotherapy. In the Summer of 2024, Isabella was finally declared cancer-free. Throughout this entire period, it was her family who stood up for her in every possible way. “My mom would sleep in the hospital with me,” recalled Isabella. On the other hand, Sophia had an important role to play in keeping her morale high.

About two weeks into radiation therapy, Isabella couldn’t stand her loss of hair it anymore and decided to shave it all off in the middle of one night. It was Sophia who helped Isabella in that. With Sophia’s assistance, Isabella made a TikTok video to have a little fun with that. In the video, Sophia lip-synced along with a snippet from the animated series “Monster High.” As she snatched a wig off of her sister’s head, Sophia pretended to say, “Oh my gosh! She’s bald! She’s bald and she’s torturing people who have hair!” Indeed, Isabella’s family has been her rock. Michael Strahan’s latest post once again proved that.

Michael recently shared a photo with Sophia and Isabella, captioned, “Love you and so proud of you, @isabellastrahan and @sophialstrahan❤️❤️.” And that post led another Strahan W… Tanita, Strahan’s eldest daughter from his first marriage with Wanda Hutchins, chiming in with hearts on her dad’s Instagram post. For all those who need a little background check on Tanita, well, she is an accomplished artist and designer. Recently, she became a mother when she welcomed a son in September last year. Meanwhile, Tanita wasn’t the only one who sent power and love to Isabella.

Erin Andrews, Strahan’s colleague at FOX, dropped some heart emojis on the post. Now, after a tiresome battle with cancer, Isabella is walking her path back to normalcy. For a father, this must have been a win bigger than any Super Bowl ring. But that came through such trauma that Michael still shudders to look back at it. “I can’t watch [her recovery vlogs]. I can’t live through it twice,” Micheal said days back in a conversation with People. Despite that, he’s not just proud, he’s humbled.

Michael Strahan talks about the hardest thing he heard from Isabella

Opening up about Isabella’s battle in an interview with People, Michael said, “She was thin and tired and bald and all the things you hate to see your kid go through,” he said. But Isabella’s spirit? Unbreakable. As Strahan shared the hardest words he ever heard: “Dad, I’ll do whatever. I want to live.” That’ll hit you right in the chest, won’t it?

Meanwhile, don’t get it twisted. Her fight wasn’t easy—radiation, chemo, surgeries. She had to relearn how to eat, walk, and even speak. “She would say to me ‘I just want to feel normal. Nothing in my life is normal,’” Sophia recalled. Sophia tried to help her achieve that. “Even though,” she added, “Nothing she went through was a normal experience.”

But through it all, Isabella made sure to not give up! “The way she handled every day with grace was amazing,” her mom, Jean Muggli, said. And you know what? That grace extended to her YouTube vlogs, where she documented her journey and donated the earnings to the Preston Robert Tisch Brain Tumor Center at Duke University.

Now cancer-free, Isabella is back in college, though her condition is still being monitored. Strahan admits the nerves never really go away. “Her doctors feel very confident she’s going to be fine,” he said. “But you’re nervous every time. That will never go away.” At the same time, the NFL legend admits, “I always say she’s a lot stronger than I am.” This journey of strength is now the focus of Life Interrupted: Isabella Strahan’s Fight Against Cancer, premiering February 5 on ABC.