Twenty-one years have passed, but the loss still cuts deep for Jim Kelly as the Hall of Fame quarterback honors his son Hunter on the 21st anniversary of his passing. Hunter Kelly died when he was just 8 years old on 5th of August 2005 while battling Krabbe disease. But to date, Jim Kelly remembers his little boy whose courage inspired thousands.

“No matter how many years go by, not a day passes that I don’t think about you, Hunter. There isn’t a day I don’t wish you were still here with us, buddy! I know I’ll see you again someday,” former Buffalo Bills QB Jim Kelly wrote on his Instagram post. “Until then, we’ll keep honoring your life, your legacy, and the hope your story continues to bring to so many families. Love you forever, buddy❤️ Daddy misses you more than a million footballs!”

Hunter Kelly was born in 1997 and was diagnosed with Krabbe disease, a rare genetic condition that affects the brain, spinal cord, and nerves throughout the body. The disease damages the protective layer around nerves, making it harder for the brain and body to send signals to each other. Doctors expected Hunter to live no more than three years, but he beat those odds and became one of the longest-living children with infantile Krabbe disease.

Even today, there is no cure for the disease.  Watching your kid suffering from a life-threatening disease was very hard for Kelly, but he always honored Hunter’s fighting spirit and how he motivated him. He honored Hunter during his Pro Football Hall of Fame induction speech in 2002.

“It has been written throughout my career that toughness is my trademark,” Kelly said. “Well, the toughest person I’ve ever met in my life is my hero, my soldier, my son, Hunter. I love you, buddy.”

Kelly and Hunter also shared the same birthday on Valentine’s Day. That made it even harder for him to accept the fact that his little boy was no longer with him. But they are making sure other families don’t face what Kelly and his wife Jill did.

Both of them started the Hunter’s Hope Foundation in 1997 to honor their son’s fight against Krabbe disease. Since then, the foundation has raised more than $6 million and given over $3.8 million to help scientists study Krabbe disease and other brain and nerve disorders. It also helps families going through the same struggles by giving them support and hope.

Even after Hunter’s death, his story continues to inspire many families, and the foundation keeps working to find better treatments and, one day, a cure.