Jim Kelly's Son, Hunter, Dies at 8; Inspired Charitable Works
BUFFALO, Aug. 5 (AP) - Hunter Kelly, whose battle with a fatal nervous system disease inspired his Hall of Fame quarterback 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.
Hunter's doctor, Patricia Duffner, said he died of respiratory failure.
Hunter had difficulty breathing Thursday and stopped breathing Friday morning, when family members called 911, said John Dudek, a spokesman for Hunter's Hope Foundation.
It could not be immediately learned where Hunter died.
The Hunter's Hope Foundation is named after Hunter, and was established in 1997 by Jim Kelly and his wife, Jill. It has raised more than $6 million and awarded more than $3.8 million to leukodystrophy and other neurological disease-related research.
Born in 1997, Hunter Kelly was given no more than two years to live after he was found to have Krabbe disease, a rare 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.
The disease has no known cure.
Jim Kelly, who led the Buffalo Bills to four American Football Conference titles in the early 1990's, had credited his son for serving as his inspiration when he retired from football after 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."
BUFFALO, Aug. 5 (AP) - Hunter Kelly, whose battle with a fatal nervous system disease inspired his Hall of Fame quarterback 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.
Hunter's doctor, Patricia Duffner, said he died of respiratory failure.
Hunter had difficulty breathing Thursday and stopped breathing Friday morning, when family members called 911, said John Dudek, a spokesman for Hunter's Hope Foundation.
It could not be immediately learned where Hunter died.
The Hunter's Hope Foundation is named after Hunter, and was established in 1997 by Jim Kelly and his wife, Jill. It has raised more than $6 million and awarded more than $3.8 million to leukodystrophy and other neurological disease-related research.
Born in 1997, Hunter Kelly was given no more than two years to live after he was found to have Krabbe disease, a rare 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.
The disease has no known cure.
Jim Kelly, who led the Buffalo Bills to four American Football Conference titles in the early 1990's, had credited his son for serving as his inspiration when he retired from football after 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."