by Joseph H. RADDER
Jim and Jill Kelly and her family, the Waggoners, radiate the kind of love
that comes from sharing sorrow, tempered by faith and hope.
Hunter Kelly, now age 5, was born on Jims birthday, Valentines Day, in 1997.
The baby passed all the newborn tests with flying colors. The first month he appeared to
be a healthy baby boy except for some signs of colic. The second month, he became more
irritable and, by the end of the third month, he spent most of his waking hours screaming.
The pediatricians continued to say that Hunter had colic, eventually changing their
diagnosis to Cerebral Palsy. Jim and Jill were devastated, but determined to do everything
they could, with Gods help, to give little Hunter the best life possible.
On June 23, 1997 the Kellys worst nightmare came true. Hunter was diagnosed with
Krabbe disease, a very serious infantile disorder that is often fatal in a childs
first few years of life.
Jills Mom Jacque, her dad Jerry, and her brother Jack and his wife Kim, immediately
sprang into action, not only to help Hunter, but all children who have this terrible
disease.
Thanks to Hunters Hope, the foundation established by Jim and Jill Kelly and the
Waggoner family, considerable progress has been made in research which hopefully will
eventually lead to prevention and cure.
The Waggoner family story provides clear answers for anybody who wonders where their
strength comes from.
Jerry Waggoner, Jill Kellys father, grew up in Attica and attended Notre Dame High
School. In the late 60s, Jerry Waggoner met Jacque Ostertag. He was dating my
sister, Jacque says, and I wanted a ride in his cool Corvette. Jerry
doesnt remember it that way, but no matter how they met, its clear they fell
in love. Jerry and Jacque were married at St. Vincents Roman Catholic Church in
Attica in April 1969. Jill says, My mother Jacque is my best friend. Actually,
when people meet Jill and Jacque, they think they are sisters, not mother and daughter.
Jerry, when he was a senior in high school. |
Jacque & Jerrys wedding (from left to right) Linda, Denny, Jerry, Jerrys mom Carol, Jacque and Mary. |
Jerry worked as a Corrections Officer at Attica State Prison, following in his
fathers footsteps. I was there during the riot of 1971, he recalls.
Listening to Jerrys story of the riot, its easy to understand what he means
when he says, that was one of the things that helped me decide the job wasnt
for me. After the prison job, Jerry became a building inspector for the state.
Jacques father had been an engineer for the state, he said, and he
was instrumental in getting me into that department. Fortunately, I was assigned to Attica
where there was a lot of construction work rehabbing and constructing new buildings at the
prison.
Jill was born in Attica in 1969 and attended school there and in Batavia. She met Jim
Kelly in 1991 a few years after he came to Buffalo to become quarterback for the Buffalo
Bills. Little did they know then that he would, in time, take the Bills to four Super
Bowls and that he was destined to be enshrined in the Football Hall of Fame.
The Kellys have three children, Erin 7, Hunter 5 and Camryn 3. Its obvious that Jill
Waggoner Kelly has strong faith in God. Jill spends a lot of time in bible study, is a
columnist for a Christian newspaper called The Word, and is busy with speaking
engagements, both at Christian seminars and groups interested in Hunters Hope.
Hunters 2nd birthday. Front row: Jill,
Erin, Jacque, Hunter and Jim. |
Kim holding Ben, Jack (new baby Paige missing), Erin, Jim, Camryn, Jill and Hunter. |
Jack was born in July 1971 and also went to schools in Attica and Batavia, where he played
baseball, football, basketball and golf. He was too modest to tell us this, but his Mom
noted that he had been a golf pro for a number of years and taught golf in that capacity.
Jack graduated from the University of Rochester where he majored in economics. Hes
now an investment advisor, coming to that job by way of the telecommunications industry.
Jack and his wife, Kim Tooze Waggoner, have two children, Ben 1 1/2, Paige 6 months. She,
too, is a native of the Batavia area where the Jack Waggoners still live.
Jill, Jerry and Jack. |
Front row: Jerry and Jacque. Back row: Jack and Jill. |
Front row: Jacque and Jerry. Back row: Jack and Jill. |
Theres a three-pronged theme to everything the Waggoner family does. Its based
on faith, hope, and love. Jill says, Our faith grew out of hope for Hunter.
The name Hunters Hope came out of a TV show on Channel 2 in 1997, soon
after Hunters diagnosis. Apparently the public response to that show was tremendous.
The name just made sense, Jill said. And Jim quickly saw that here was
his chance to use his celebrity, not only to help his own son, but hundreds of other
children and their families as well.
There has been a lot of progress in Krabbes disease research, Jill was
happy to report. Dr. Joanne Kurtzberg at Duke University is at the forefront of pediatric
cord-blood transplants which are now saving the lives of Krabbe infants. There is no
cure, but there is effective treatment, and, hopefully, some day there will be
prevention, Jill said. When diagnosed early enough, transplants are possible, and
Jill noted that, Those children who have had successful transplants have the best
chance of living a near normal life. Clearly, much of this progress has been made
possible by the Hunters Hope Foundation.
Jim, Erin, Jerry and Jacques dad Jack Ostertag. |
Jerry and Jack. |
Hunters Hope is truly a Kelly/ Waggoner family effort. Jim and Jill Kelly are the
founders, Jills Dad, Jerry, and Mom, Jacque, are on the board, Jack handles the
investments, and Jacks wife, Kim, plays a leadership role among the
organizations annual Candlelight Ball. This year the ball is November 15th.
Jerry, Jill and Jack at a fundraiser for Hunters Hope. |
One of Jim Kellys passions is hunting. In fact he was hunting out west on the day we
interviewed the family. We suspect that when he and Jill named their second baby Hunter,
Jim looked forward to having him at his side on hunting trips some day in the future. That
doesnt seem likely now because a cure for Hunter would, in Jills words,
be a miracle.
If there is any group of people anywhere who deserve a miracle it is the Waggoners and the
Kellys.
Joseph H. Radder, a regular contributor to Living Prime Time, is the author of Young Jesus, the missing years, a fictional biography of a young Jew named Jesus, just released by 1stBooks.com.