August 5, 200520 yr Hunter Kelly, quarterback Jim's son, dies at 8 Aug. 5, 2005 CBS SportsLine.com wire reports BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Hunter Kelly, whose battle with a fatal nervous system disease inspired his Hall of Fame father Jim Kelly's charitable works, died Friday morning. He was 8. "Our prayers go to the family and kids," Jim Kelly's brother, Dan, told the Associated Press. Born in 1997, Hunter Kelly was given no more than three years to live after being diagnosed with Krabbe Disease, an inherited degenerative disorder of the central and peripheral nervous systems. The disease hinders development of the myelin sheath, a fatty covering that protects the brain's nerve fibers. In honor of their son, Jim Kelly and his wife, Jill, established the Hunter's Hope Foundation in 1997, which has raised more than $6 million and awarded more than $3.8 million to leukodystrophy and other neurological disease-related research. The disease has no known cure. Jim Kelly, who won an unprecedented four consecutive AFC titles as the Bills' quarterback in the early 1990s, had credited his son for serving as his inspiration after he retired from football following the 1996 season. "He'll never be able to do what daddy did," Kelly said last year. "But he's going to do greater things. He's going to make a difference in kids' lives. He already has." Kelly and his son happened to share the same birthday, Valentine's Day. The Kelly family was preparing to issue a press release later in the day, Dan Kelly said. very sad news. always tough to lose someone, especially a child. prayers go out to his family...
August 5, 200520 yr Wow. This is very sad and unfortunate news for the Kelly family. I give them my prayers....
August 5, 200520 yr Prayers to that family--that's so terrible. But Jim Kell's charitable work for the disease have been so inspirational--he seems like a really classy guy and I really feel for them.
August 5, 200520 yr Very sad news. Thoughts go out to his family and I hope one day Jim and his organization can help cure the disease.
August 5, 200520 yr Sad week. Read that Buddy Bell and David Bell's relative was killed in Iraq this week as well.
August 5, 200520 yr Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww, shoot. I really hate seeing this. That little guy was hanging in there for so long. For him to be there at his dad's HOF induction when he was only given weeks to live was simply amazing. I'll never foget that induction for as long as I live. Prayers go out to the Kellys.
August 6, 200520 yr Really sad story. I don't mean to be insensative here, but it seems like a lot of the 80 and 90's QB's have children with severe medical problems. I think Marino and Flutie are at least two others, Boomer Esiason (sp?) as well. I've always wondered if there's more to this... but with that said, it doesn't matter why it happenned now, it's really sad to see such a young child pass away.
August 6, 200520 yr QUOTE(AddisonStSox @ Aug 5, 2005 -> 01:58 PM) Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww, shoot. I really hate seeing this. That little guy was hanging in there for so long. For him to be there at his dad's HOF induction when he was only given weeks to live was simply amazing. I'll never foget that induction for as long as I live. Prayers go out to the Kellys. That sure was one to remember. It was so emotional and it was hard not to become emotional too. Very great speech and a great guy. Hes with god now
August 6, 200520 yr QUOTE(SoxFan562004 @ Aug 6, 2005 -> 02:53 AM) Really sad story. I don't mean to be insensative here, but it seems like a lot of the 80 and 90's QB's have children with severe medical problems. I think Marino and Flutie are at least two others, Boomer Esiason (sp?) as well. I've always wondered if there's more to this... but with that said, it doesn't matter why it happenned now, it's really sad to see such a young child pass away. Yeah, it really is interesting how so many athletes have children with medical problems. On the bright side, at least a lot of them are in the spotlight and have enough resources to really raise awareness of the medical problems, and raise a lot of money for research, etc. Also, I still think it's funny that Kelly's wife shares the name of a famous porn star.
August 7, 200520 yr Unforunatly this was only a matter of time. But the work Jim Kelly did, and is going to do will be HUGE. He lived very, very long for a child afflicted with this kind of disease, its unfortunate that this is how it ended.
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