Daughter Dying, Dad Can't Leave Prison

Ten-year-old Jayci Yaeger is dying of brain cancer, and has one final wish -- to have her father spend some time at her bedside before she dies.

She's in a Lincoln, Neb. hospice.

However, her father, Jason Yaeger, is in a federal minimum security prison in South Dakota, serving five-and-a-half years for a drug conviction. He has less than a year left in his sentence, and is set to be released to a halfway house in four months.

Jason and the Yaeger family have appealed many times to the warden for a 30-day supervised release, which could be allowed under "extraordinary circumstances." However, the family says these appeals have been denied, and the prison tells them the circumstances are not "extraordinary."

"She's very scared," Jayci's mother, Vonda Yaeger says, "and I think she's holding on for her father. She didn't do anything wrong. He was there for her when she was born. He should be there for her when she goes."

Jason, she says, was always a very good father to Jayci.

The Early Show had an exclusive interview with Vonda on Thursday.

Vonda said "the tumors are growing and hemorrhaging, and right now there's nothing they can do for her, just keep her comfortable," reports CBS News affiliate KMTV in Omaha, Neb. "She's very scared, and I think she's holding on for her father."

KMTV's Michelle Bandur reports that the family says they'll keep fighting to get Jason out to grant his little girl's last wish. "She didn't do anything wrong. He was there for her when she was born. He should be there for her when she goes."