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Girl Dies of Cancer After Dad's Visit

CBS News

Posted: 2008-03-31 12:50:56

NEW YORK (March 28) -- A ten-year-old girl lost her battle with brain cancer early Friday, shortly after what turned out to be a last visit from her father, who's in prison on a drugs-related conviction.

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Jayci Yaeger, 10, died from brain cancer last week shortly after getting a visit from her father, who is in prison on a drug-related conviction. Yaeger's family said her last wish was to see her father, who was serving time in a federal prison in South Dakota, while Jayci was in hospice care in Lincoln, Neb.

It was, Jayci Yaeger's family says, her last wish -- to have her father by her side.

Jason Yaeger was escorted Wednesday from Yankton Federal Prison Camp in South Dakota to the hospice in Lincoln, Neb. where Jayci spent her last days. Jason was allowed to stay for 20 minutes.

It was Jason's fourth brief, supervised visit with Jayci since her condition worsened. Officials at Yankton had been refusing Jason's repeated requests for an early release to a halfway-house so he could spend more time with her.

Jayci's mother, Vonda Yaeger, told The Early Show earlier this month Jayci was "very scared. I think she's holding on for her father. ... She's very close with her father. She always has been."

On The Early Show Friday, Jayci's uncle, Ed Yaeger, told co-anchor Maggie Rodriguez that, on Wednesday, Jason "just got to tell her that he loved her and sit there and hold her hand and try to comfort her as much as he could."

Though Jayci was unconscious, Ed says the family feels she was aware of Jason's presence because, "Her breathing became labored. That was always our indication -- that, and tearing up and crying when Jason would be on the phone with her. Those were our two indications that she was aware of Jason."

Does Ed think Jayci was indeed hanging on for that one last visit from Jason?

"I believe that's what happened," Ed responded. "She was hanging on for daddy, and she got her daddy, and then she let go."

Ed says the Yaegers are very upset with prison officials, who repeatedly rebuffed Jason's requests to be with Jayci.

"We are not satisfied with their actions," Ed told Rodriguez. "Jason should have been here with Jayci when Jayci passed, and he wasn't, because they decided to just make decisions that I believe were unethical.

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"Jason's debt to society is almost paid (he's in the last year of a five-and-a-half-year sentence). And all he wanted was just to be here by her side. He would have taken up the rest of his sentence afterwards. He just wanted to be with his daughter, that's all."

The Federal Bureau of Prisons has issued a statement saying, "The institution has taken unusual steps to be accommodating during this difficult time." The statement cites the four escorted trips and "additional phone calls to his family at no charge to him." But, it says, "After careful review of the security needs of the community and the offender, the warden determined that a furlough (unescorted stay in the community) is not a viable option."

But reporter David Jespersen of CBS affiliate KOLN-TV in Lincoln says, "This was a request more for Jayci than it ever was for Jason. He wasn't asking to be set free entirely. He was just asking to be here with Jayci, and now is asking to be here with his other daughter, Shelby. As you can imagine, she's going through a very tough time right now."

The community has been very supportive of the Yaegers, Jespersen says, noting that, "We have had some e-mails saying ... the law is the law, he should stay there, but the overwhelming majority has been very supportive of the family. In fact, they're not only e-mailing our station, they're e-mailing the prison on a daily basis.

"They're also e-mailing any politician they could have to try to get something worked out. I talked with Sen. Ben Nelson's office, Sen. Chuck Hagel's office, the governor both here in Nebraska and South Dakota, and they all expressed that they received plenty of e-mails and many phone calls."

Copyright 2008, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.

2008-03-31 11:17:47

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3425 comments

MLR12922 07:41:33 PM Apr 02 2008

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or both, I can at least guarantee this, I will have no one to blame but myself for failing my children. No one is perfect and a grown up responsible adult owns their mistakes and does not blame others if their short comings should happen to destroy the heart of a child that deserves better.

MLR12922 07:39:17 PM Apr 02 2008

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celdridge1264 06:
MLR how many second chances have you been given in life or are you so far above most you never have required one? good grief.. hed done the majority of his time and wasnt asking for anyone to eliminiate that .. just postpone it FOR THE SAKE OF A CHILD.. you cant see that ? thats heartless..

Celdridge:
For the SAKE OF A CHILD, why couldn't this girls father be a responsible human being? Do you think that this girl is the only kid that ever died wanting to see her father or mother more often? I am not heartless, what that father put that girl through was completely cruel and HE let her down in her darkest hour, as well as all of her other hours. Your "for the sake of the child" line is whiny and cliche. As for my "second chances", I've had some given to me, but when I became a parent, I stopped taking chances and I took my responsibility as a parent seriously. Something this little girl's father didn't do. And if in the future, I do something stupid or illegal or

testarope 02:56:46 AM Apr 02 2008

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American drug laws are antiquated and unfair. We like to say we're the greatest country in the world, and brag about our "freedoms"; but, the war on drugs is nothing more than a money making ploy for the government. Government could care less about the lives of drug users. Prisons are big money to local government though. I suppose this guy will be a better person after he is out, after being forced away from his dying child. All he did was make money selling drugs to somebody who really wanted to take drugs, and he got FIVE years in prison. Let freedom ring.

jenmcd99 12:03:14 AM Apr 02 2008

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I also beleive from experience that she was waiting for daddy. Cruel and unusual is what I think the law should call this. He wasn't a murderer, child molester...They denided what can NEVER be given back.

aleighcat 10:45:20 PM Apr 01 2008

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A camera and a human presence are two completely different things. The touch of a loving hand can't even compare to a cold video image. The little girl was in a coma -- she wouldn't know that her Dad was there if she couldn't view a video, but I fully believe that she knew he was there by his touch. She could feel his warm breath on her face/ear, she could smell his scent. If I closed my eyes and was led into a room of men, I know without a doubt that I could pick out my father just by his scent. It's the same scent I breathed in as he held me in comfort as I was growing up. Today at 78, I still breathe in his scent every time I hug him goodbye. Nope...a camera would be too cold in those final moments of life.

joannbumbles 10:33:59 PM Apr 01 2008

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I know from experience that the little girl knew that her daddy was there. I lost a 22 month old to cancer in August, 2004.The father should have been allowed to be with her for the final moments.

kandy66542 10:30:19 PM Apr 01 2008

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we can barely afford the prisons because we fill them with nonviolent drug users, duh... havent read a single post and repeating the same things discussed hours ago....

jday1211 10:24:45 PM Apr 01 2008

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The judges and warden need to be locked up for taking so long to grate this little girls wish! It wasn't like this guy was in a maximum security prison, that wasn't even a freaking fences!! We let guys much worse than him go on a daily basis, this warden should be strung up himself, what A JERK!!!!!

bellasedona86004 10:23:14 PM Apr 01 2008

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Such a strong little soul. How brave of her to go through brain cancer. Thank God that we have such a loving father that was waiting for her to enter heaven. Yes, her human daddy made mistakes and I am sure he has had alot of time to relive the sadness of his actions.Hopefully a life lost will make her dad realize his life can make a difference if he chooses. There is always someone that needs love.

bawareh 10:21:47 PM Apr 01 2008

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tkoehlar 10:00:32 PM Apr 01 2008
Very well said! And thank you very much for stating what seems lost in the empathetic emotions here:
"We can barely afford the prison, so to allow inmates to leave when there is illness or death in the family is impossible to do for everyone and therefore not right to do for anyone."

The reasonable sustainable long-term costs, and fairness of such, demands it....I couldn't agree with you more!

As a reasonable compromise / solution, I have suggested adding one relatively cheap videocamera in a prison visiting room as a videoconferencing option for special defined crisis like this given access equally for all inmates that are in good standing at that prison. This would be cost effective and compassionate!

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3425 comments