New Role Makes Jim Kelly Emotional as Bills Legend Shares 4 Key Updates on Grandson’s Health Struggles

Jim Kelly‘s storyline is one of the most tragic in football history. The man who quite literally carried the Buffalo Bills to four consecutive Super Bowls, but never won. So much pressure, so much responsibility. But his leadership role doesn’t remotely come close to the new role he’s taken on. Yet, he loves every bit of it.

Yes, that role encompasses a struggle that isn’t highlighted in the job description. Being a grandfather. Yes, the Kelly family was blessed with a baby boy a month ago, and named him Beau Hunter Bean. Or, if you’re feeling extra affectionate, you can call him ‘Little Bean.’

Jim Kelly posted a picture of Little Bean on his Instagram story and wrote, “Nothing like being a grandpa!! Yes, there’s nothing like it. And that means a lot more to Jim. Because he hasn’t been part of this journey for very long, but he has already endured the hardest parts of it.

The worst pain you can possibly feel as a grandparent is to see your grandson suffer. And Jim’s been through that pain since the moment Little Bean was born. Yes, Beau spent nearly 40 days in a pediatric cardiac unit before finally coming home. He’s been fighting a profound medical battle since the moment he stepped foot into this world.

But he’s here, and he’s fighting. And Beau’s parents (Parker and Erin) and Jim are with him every step of the way. As for Jim, this isn’t his first time battling outside of football. Life off the field has thrown Kelly some of his hardest hits. He’s battled oral cancer more than once, undergoing a gruelling reconstructive surgery in 2018, and has never hidden how much those stretches tested him. Through it all, he’s pointed back to two anchors: His faith and his family.

And what he’s going through with Little Bean, he’s been there before. Do you wonder why Beau’s middle name is Hunter? Hunter was Jim and Jill’s only son, born on Jim’s own birthday, February 14, 1997. His life was heartbreakingly short, cut down by Krabbe leukodystrophy, a rare and fatal genetic disease that attacks the nervous system. Jill later wrote in Without a Word that the name wasn’t an accident; Jim had picked “Hunter” out of love for the outdoors and the chase, never knowing how soon he’d be chasing memories instead.

But Beau Hunter Bean is fighting, and he’s fighting hard. And Jim Kelly is keeping us updated through it all.

Jim Kelly gives us four positive updates

Yes, he isn’t keeping us in the dark. He knows what he means to his fans, and he’s making sure they know what’s going on. He gave us the first good news on 8 August. “We have an amazing UPDATE to share… one that only God could orchestrate,” he wrote.

“On August 5th, Hunter’s Heaven Day, Little Bean came off of oxygen… and has remained off ever since.” Look at the date. 5 August. Twenty years to the day after their son Hunter lost his fight with Krabbe disease. It carries way too much meaning to feel like a coincidence. “We believe with all our hearts that this is an answer to prayer and a glimpse of God’s healing power,” he added.

And now, he has hit us with yet another update. Or shall we say, four new updates. “✔️ First pediatrician + cardiologist visits ✔️ Off his clot medication ✔️ Only on oxygen at night,” he wrote on Instagram. Everything’s progressing with Little Bean the way we’d hope for.

But then came the best (and the most important) update. “✔️ Doing all the normal baby things—eating, fussing, cooing, and keeping mom + dad up at night.” This is what carries the real weight. Doctors can chart oxygen levels and run endless scans, but the real signs of healing show up in the everyday things. Little Beau is finally getting closer to living a normal life, and Jim Kelly is letting us all in on this beautiful, yet inspiring story.