TOUGHNESS IS JIM KELLY'S

TRADEMARK.

FORMER NFL QUARTERBACK WILL BE

THE FIRST TO TELL YOU THE

TOUGHEST PERSON HE HAS EVER MET

WAS HIS SON, HUNTER. IN 11

SEASONS WITH THE BUFFALO BILLS,

QUARTERBACK JIM KELLY TOOK HIS

TEAM TO FOUR CONSECUTIVE

SUPERBOWLS.

BY '97 HE WAS MARRIED AND A

DAUGHTER AND A BABY ON THE WAY.

WHEN HUNTER WAS TWO AREAS OLD,

HE WAS DIAGNOSED WITH A FATAL

GENETIC DISEASE THAT EFFECTS THE

SYSTEM.

HUNT

HUNTER LIVED LONG ENOUGH TO SEE

HIS DAD INDUCTED INTO THE HALL

OF FAME.

TERRY: JIM KELLY HAS WRITTEN

A WONDERFUL BOOK CALLED PLAY

BOOK FOR DADS.

WELCOME TO THE "700 CLUB."

GREAT TO HAVE YOU HERE.

IT IS AN HONOR.

TERRY: TELL US ABOUT YOUR

SON, HUNTER.

A BOY BORN ON MY BIRTHDAY

VALENTINES DAY.

HIM BEING DIAGNOSED WITH A FATAL

DISEASE AND OF COURSE,

UNFORTUNATELY PASSED AWAY AT THE

AGE OF EIGHT.

WHAT I WAS ABLE TO WITNESS AND

SEE FIRSTHAND WITH MY WIFE JILL

HOW HE SUFFERED AND KEPT

FIGHTING BACK.

WHEN HE WOULD SUFFER FROM

PNEUMONIA 15-20 TIMES, HE WOULD

FIGHT BACK AND A TOUGHY.

JUST TO SEE WHAT HE WENT THROUGH

AND GET THROUGH THE OBSTACLES.

HOW HE ENCOURAGED ME AS A FATHER

AND HIS TWO SISTERS, WHEN THEY

STARTED ROUGH HOUSING, HOW HE

ACCEPTED IT AND SO WONDERFUL TO

SEE HOW HE WAS ABLE TO INTERACT

WITH HIS SISTERS.

JUST THE TOUGHNESS DAY IN AND

DAY OUT.

IT MAKES ME LOOK AND SAY I

WASN'T THAT TOUGH.

[LAUGHTER].

TERRY: I THINK WHEN YOU ARE

IN A SITUATION LIKE THAT,

ESPECIALLY PARENT WITH A CHILD,

I CAN THINK OF ANYTHING WORSE

THAN TO SEE YOUR CHILD SLOWLY,

SLOWLY GO THROUGH ALL OF THAT

PAIN AND COME TO A PLACE OF

DEATH, YOU LEARN THINGS THROUGH

THAT.

I LEARNED A LOT.

IT WAS HARD FOR ME.

HERE WAS A SON I DREAMT ABOUT

DOING WITH LIKE I DID WITH MY

DAD AND HIS SIX SONS AND MY

BROTHER AND HIS SON THAT WAS

BORN EIGHT DAYS BEFORE HUNTER.

THE GOALS AND DREAMS I HAD FOR

HIM, AT THE BEGINNING I WAS MAD

AT EVERYBODY THAT TOLD ME I WAS

A CHOSEN FATHER.

YOUR SON IS HERE FOR A REASON.

MY WIFE RAN TO THE LORD AND I

RAN AWAY.

I WAS MAD AT GOD AND ANYBODY

THAT TRIED TO CONVINCE ME THAT

WAS THE RIGHT PATH TO TAKE.

THAFRP THE THANKFULLY FOR THE

LORD, I FINALLY GOT IT.

ULTIMATE IS IF I WANT TO SEE HIM

AGAIN IF I DIDN'T CHANGE MY WAYS

I WOULD NEVER SEE HIM AGAIN.

WITH A DEVOTED WIFE JILL BEING

ABLE TO TEACH ME THE RIGHT

THINGS, IF I DIDN'T CHANGE MY

WAY, I WOULD NEVER GET TO SEE MY

SON AGAIN.

TERRY: YOU AND JILL WENT

THROUGH HARD TIMES CHRONICALLY

SICK SON AND THEN THE DEATH.

IT WAS TOUGH.

EARLY ON, DADDY COULDN'T DO

ANYTHING RIGHT.

I WAS ON THE ROAD A LOT.

I DIDN'T KNOW WHAT MY WIFE WENT

THROUGH.

I SAW WHAT HUNTER WAS GOING

THROUGH.

I WOULD COME HOME AND THREE OR

FOUR NURSES IN THE HOUSE.

THAT IS NOT WHEN I RETIRED, THAT

IS NOT WHAT I WANTED, WHAT I

THOUGHT WAS GOING TO HAPPEN WHEN

I GAVE UP THE GAME OF FOOTBALL.

I THOUGHT COME HOME, HAVE DINNER

AND PLAY WITH THE KIDS.

MY HOUSE WASN'T THE HOUSE I

THOUGHT IT WAS GOING TO BE.

I WAS FORCED AWAY.

AFTER A WHILE, I KNEW IF I

DIDN'T START TREATING MY WIFE

THE WAY SHE SHOULD HAVE BEEN

TREATED I WAS GOING TO LOSE

EVERYTHING.

I SPOKE ABOUT WANTING TO SEE MY

SON AGAIN.

PROBABLY ONE OF THE KICKERS, I

WANTED TO WALK THROUGH MY FRONT

DOOR AND HAVE MY TWO DAUGHTERS

ERIN AND CAMERON LOOK AT THEIR

DADDY WITH RESPECT.

IF I DIDN'T GIVE MYSELF TO THE

LORD THAT WASN'T GOING TO

HAPPEN.

I WANTED TO, I NEEDED IT.

I REMEMBER THE DAY LIKE IT WAS

YESTERDAY, I MET WITH PASTOR

GEORGE.

THAT WAS THE DAY I WAS GOING TO

GIVE MYSELF TO THE LORD.

WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT FREE AND I

HAVE HEARD THAT WORD USED A LOT

PRIOR TO, I KNOW WHAT IT MEANS

NOW.

WHEN I DECIDED THIS WAS THE PATH

I WANTED TO TAKE, EVERYTHING WAS

LIFTED OFF MY SHOULDERS, NO MORE

LYING.

I HAD SOMEONE I COULD TALK TO, I

COULD HAVE A CONVERSATION WITH

THE LORD, IT IS NOT ALWAYS

TALKING TO YOUR FRIENDS.

YOU NEED SOMEONE ELSE TO TALK

TO.

WHEN THAT HAPPENED, IT WAS LIKE

WOW, WHY DIDN'T I GET THIS

SOONER?

IT IS GOD'S PERFECT PLANNING.

[LAUGHTER].

TERRY: SOMETIMES IT IS SO

FUNNY.

IT REALLY IS.

PEOPLE LOOKED AT ME AS THE TOUGH

QUARTERBACK.

THERE IS NO WAY BUT YES, THERE

IS A WAY.

YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE SOMEBODY

THAT ALWAYS SUFFERS, YOU CAN BE

A TOUGH GUY, A FOOTBALL PLAYER

AND SEE THE LORD AND KNOW THE

MAGIC HE HAS AND WHAT HE CAN DO

FOR YOU.

NOT ONLY PERSONALLY IN THE

EVERYDAY LIFE BUT IN YOUR HEART.

NOW THOSE THINGS THAT YOU

HAVE LEARNED FROM HUNTER AND AS

THE LORD HAS BEEN LEADING AND

DIRECTING YOU, YOU ARE POURING

INTO THE LIVES OF OTHER KIDS.

I TRY.

ESPECIALLY IN THIS BOOK "PLAY

BOOK FOR DADS."

TO MAKE A LONG STORY SHORT,

THROUGHOUT YEARS OF HAVING A

FOOTBALL CAMP FOR KIDS AND

RAISED IN A FAMILY OF SIX BOYS

WITH MY FATHER AND THE VALUES

BEING ABLE TO SEE THE 25 YEARS

HOW KIDS DON'T APPRECIATE WHAT

THEY HAVE AND THE WORK ETHIC

ISN'T THERE ANYMORE.

EASY THINGS WE TOOK FOR GRANTED,

FIRM HAND SHAKE AND LOOKING AT

THE MAN IN THE EYE AND THE THANK

YOUS.

DON'T GET ME WRONG, THERE ARE

KIDS THAT STILL DO THAT.

TRUST MY, I AM NOT A PERFECT

FATHER.

THERE ARE A LOT OF KIDS THAT

HAVE GRABBED ME BY MY HAND, WHEN

THEY LEFT THEIR FINGERS WERE

HURTING.

MY FATHER TAUGHT HIS SIX SONS

FIRST SIGNS OF RESPECT IS WHEN

YOU GIVE THE MAN A FIRM HAND

SHAKE AND LOOK THEM IN THE EYE.

I LEARNED A LOT FROM MY FATHER.

IN MY SPIRITUAL LIFE, EVERYDAY

IS A LEARNING EXPERIENCE WITH MY

WIFE, JILL.

THAT IS AWESOME, YOU ARE

MAKING SUCH A DIFFERENCE IN THE

LIVES OF YOUR KIDS AND YOUR

BOOK.

I LOVE THE POIGNANT MESSAGES TO

HUNTER THAT BEGIN EVERY CHAPTER

AND END EACH CHAPTER WITH A

MESSAGE TO YOUR DAUGHTERS.

I AM A BIG OUTDOORSMAN.

MY SON HUNTER BESIDE ME.

I HELP OUT WITH MY TWO

DAUGHTER'S BASKETBALL.

TERRY: YOU ARE THE COACH.

KIDS SOMETIMES DON'T WANT TO

LISTEN TO DADDY.

MY DAUGHTER ERIN, DADDY KNOWS A

LITTLE BIT ABOUT BASKETBALL,

TOO.

SHE DOES LISTEN, KEEP LISTENING,

ERIN.

TERRY: "THE PLAY BOOK FOR

DADS."

IF YOU WANT TO KNOW ABOUT

HUNTER'S FOUNDATION, LOG ON TO

CBN.COM.

THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE.