Never give up: UM legend Jim Kelly continues to serve as beacon of hope
As inspirational people go, they simply don't come much better than Jim Kelly.
Howard Schnellenberger, his former coach at the University of Miami, summed up Kelly perfectly while introducing him as the keynote speaker at the YMCA of South Palm Beach County Inspiration Breakfast fundraiser, held at Office Depot's Boca Raton headquarters on Tuesday morning.
"I don't know any player who has ever had so much to share with so many people as Jim Kelly has," said the man who, along with Kelly's assistance, brought the Hurricanes program to prominence.
Sure, Kelly might be remembered by most as the quarterback of four straight losing Super Bowl teams, but as Schnellenberger reminded the hundreds in attendance Tuesday, he is also the only one to ever reach four championship games in a row.
And since leaving football behind, while Kelly has endured more heartbreak than most people can imagine, he has used all of that tragedy to inspire magnificent charitable efforts with a humble attitude that you might not expect from someone with his athletic accomplishments.
"People will tell me all the time, it's good to see you," said Kelly. "I tell them I'd rather be seen than be viewed! And when people say I inspire them. I want them to know how much they've inspired me with the letters and cards I've received. I read every one."
He received letters when his son, Hunter, was diagnosed with Krabbe Leukodystrophy, a degenerative disorder of the nervous system, at just four months old.
More came when Hunter finally succumbed to his illness at the age of eight, nearly tripling the maximum three years his doctors gave him to live.
And then the USPS had more work to do in mid-2013 when Kelly himself revealed he had cancer -- Squamous-cell carcinoma -- in his upper jaw. The subsequent surgery left him with a prosthetic, a lisp, no saliva and some hearing loss.
The cancer returned in 2014, resulting not in surgery this time, but instead chemotherapy, radiation and, of course, more letters.
Oh, and don't forget the Alaskan plane crash into the Bering Sea in 2000, the back, neck and hernia surgeries in 2011-12 or the MRSA in his bones Kelly picked up late last year.
Now you know where the term 'Kelly Tough' comes from, the two words that form the title of his daughter Erin's book being released in May that chronicles what the term means to her.
But just like during his time on the field when he would get knocked down in the pocket, Kelly has bounced back from these life-changing events again and again and again.
"I never gave up, even as a young kid when they told me I wouldn't play football again (after his shoulder injury sustained four games into his senior season at UM)," said Kelly. "I tell people you have to keep fighting, because what you do might help someone else."
And that's exactly Kelly himself is doing via his Kelly's Kids Foundation, and Hunter's Hope, which, as the website says "gives hope through education and awareness, research, and family care for Krabbe, Leukodystrophies, and Newborn Screening."
"What we're doing is changing kids lives," said Kelly about Hunter's Hope, which he called his proudest post-football accomplishment. "When you have young couples walking up to you holding babies in their arms and thanking you for what your foundation is doing, changing legislation, you understand why the lord picked you as a father of a special boy.
I can make a difference. I didn't want to hear that when he (Hunter) was born, I just wanted a healthy son. But now I've accepted that and I understand why when I see what it does for other people."
Kelly will admit that while he always had physical toughness from a young age, he wasn't blessed with the mental toughness needed to deal with life's curveballs.
"You want to surround yourself with great people," said Kelly. "I've been blessed with great coaches and a father who was my hero. I learned so much from them to make me the man I am today."
He also credits the positive attitude of the people who visited him during his hospital stays for lifting his spirits in the darkest of days.
"What helped me was, every time they walked into my room, it was with a positive attitude," said Kelly. "They were happy, and what that does for a patient, for someone not doing well, it helps build their day. And what you do today will make our tomorrows a lot better."
For now, Kelly's tomorrow looks very bright. He is cancer-free and will have his next check-up MRI early next month.
"I look at him now and he's 210 pounds. Last time I saw him he was 185 pounds, skin and bone," said Schnellenberger. "Now, his hair is growing back in, his body is strong, he's lifting weights and exercising, and has renewed vigor for all the charity things he do. He does more charity work than 10 players. He's a saint on earth."
And while his body is still working on getting back to full strength, Kelly's sharp sense of humor remains in perfect working order.
After being asked about the significant moves his Bills have made this offseason, Kelly said he's "pumped" about what new coach Rex Ryan is doing, he added this quip about new Dolphin Ndamukong Suh:
"I hope Suh gets a little sick before he plays us, because he's a bad boy. I'm glad he didn't play when I was playing."
One would hope Suh would probably say the same thing about Kelly.
