Hunter's Story, Told by Jill Kelly

Hunter at One and Two
Hunter at Three
Hunter at Five
Hunter at Six
Hunter at Seven

Hunter at Four
It is incredible how fast time flies by. It seems like just yesterday Hunter celebrated his 2nd birthday. Since the day we were told Hunter would probably not survive past 14 months, we waited - hoping for the best while anticipating the worst. What a huge milestone and turning point for Hunter and our family when he turned two. Our little buddy beat the averages! Now, in less than six months, Hunter James Kelly will turn five years old. What a miracle! We have learned to never underestimate the power of prayer and God.

Hunter is such a fun and cool little boy. With each passing day, he continues to show all of us the true meaning of life and how to appreciate all the little things that we often take for granted. He is an inspiration and a blessing.

Our dynamic team, consisting of family members, physical and occupational therapists, nurses, doctors and specialists, continues to aggressively pursue different avenues in which to better Hunter's overall quality of life. Within the past year, three wonderful new members have joined our team - Miss Marion, Hunter's Special Education Teacher; Miss Kristen, Hunter's Speech Therapist; and Miss Sherise, Hunter's very own Massage Therapist.

Miss Marion joins us twice a week, usually following Hunter's physical therapy sessions with Miss Elizabeth. Through special education, Hunter has been introduced to some very fun and exciting toys, activities, and games. From carving Halloween pumpkins, planting flowers, and baking cakes (for sister Erin Marie's birthday), to playing soccer, baseball, and - get this - bowling, Hunter is having a blast.

Miss Kristen, Hunter's Speech Therapist, helps Hunter communicate through cause and effect toys and games, and through special computer options that he plays with on his little blue iMAC laptop. Kristen also helps Hunter use his creative artistic skills through assisting him in special art projects. Hunter is quite an artist, and we have many beautiful creations to prove it!

Miss Sherise joined us about two months ago, and Hunter just adores her! Every Tuesday and Thursday evening after Hunter's Jacuzzi, Miss Sherise uses her gentle, loving touch to give Hunter an hour massage before bedtime. I love to watch the two of them. To see Hunter relax the way he does when he is getting a massage is such a joyful sight. He is so content and peaceful.

We are so encouraged by the wealth of knowledge and excitement our team members bring into Hunter's life. Even though Hunter continues to face insurmountable physical challenges, one thing is for sure, he is tough, very determined, and he will succeed. Hunter loves to learn and play and we are determined to continue to provide him with all the best opportunities to do so.

This year, another exciting event for Hunter was welcoming our new family addition, Butterscotch, our yellow lab puppy. I will never forget the day we brought Butterscotch home and introduced her to Hunter. The first thing she did when we let her down to see Hunter was to crawl right up along side him and snuggle. It was the cutest thing. Hunter has always been very interested in animals of all shapes and sizes. He loves horses - Bambi, of course being his absolute favorite, and now dogs (like his big sister Erin, who also loves dogs) with his new pal, Butterscotch. Well, you can imagine how thrilled we were to finally get Hunter to the Buffalo Zoo. You never know what you are going to see, or not see. It was actually a funny ordeal because it seemed like while Hunter was awake, most of the animals we saw were sleeping; and while Hunter slept, the animals were awake. However, we did get to see the most awesome animal at the zoo - the giraffe. For Hunter to see the giraffes made the entire trip a huge success. They were so beautiful!

Definitely, the coolest experience for Hunter this year, aside from fishing with Daddy at Mr. George's pond, was visiting Walt Disney World for the very first time. Our family's excursion to Disney this year, as hectic and crazy as it was, was a very special time for all of us. The best part of our trip was having a private dinner with Mickey Mouse. Mickey was very kind and spent a lot of time with Hunter and his two sisters. What a great memory!

As Hunter continues to grow, we continue to be down on our knees before God praying for his healing. With each day that Hunter continues to struggle with the dreadful disease that is stealing his little life, we know that God loves Hunter and He is in control. He knows the exact number of hairs on his head and the days he will bless our lives on earth. So, each day we still have Hunter is a miracle to us.