Jill Kelly says there's no place like home

Jill Kelly had to laugh at the irony. There was a time, as a young man, when her husband resisted the idea of coming to Buffalo. Now, 30 years later, Jim Kelly has become the epitome of what we like to call the Buffalo guy.

I know, Jill said in an interview this week. Isnt that interesting? Well, clearly God had other plans, because it goes way beyond the football field.

Kelly has called Buffalo home since his retirement from the Bills in 1996. But his wife says it has never been more evident than during his battle with sinus cancer.

Two weeks ago, Kelly had the first of his chemotherapy treatments at Lenox Hill Hospital in Manhattan. When he returned to Buffalo for Easter weekend, the original plan was for him to return to New York City. Instead, he decided to stay and resume his treatment here in Buffalo.

The initial treatment rocked Kelly, whose body has been ravaged over the years by a variety of injuries. Jill said theyre kind of slam dunking him with the most potent chemo. But when he and his family discussed the possibility of continuing treatment here, Kellys spirits brightened considerably.

I think the most clear and obvious change was when Jim was told he could go home, Jill said. I think that although the care in NYC was impeccable, we started looking into our options to make sure we could do the exact same thing back in Buffalo.

As soon as Jim knew there was a green light, and that everything would go smoothly and there wouldnt be any hiccups in his care, he just ... changed.

As a football player, leading the Bills to four straight Super Bowls, Kelly became a symbol of Buffalos resilient, fighting spirit. Now he is in the fight of his life, and he and his family realized that he wanted to go toe-to-toe with cancer in the place where he feels strongest, in Buffalo.

Hes been being ambushed in his mind, Jill said, and this was a turning point for him, absolutely. Hes a different person now, being home and surrounded by family that love him and are with him. His brothers each taking a turn. And they were doing this in New York as well.

But youre home, she said. You can look out the windows of your home and see your dog. You can see the wild

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Jill Kelly says there's no place like home