"She Was Hanging On For Daddy"

Girl, 10, Succumbs To Brain Cancer After Inmate Dad Gets One Last Visit

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

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 Yeagers 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.

"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, "fter 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."

---

According to CBS affiliate KMTV in Omaha, Neb.:

To help the Yaeger Family:

Jayci Yaeger Fund
Wells Fargo Bank
1248 "O" Street
Lincoln, NE 68508

Guardians Inc.
1701 South 17th Street, Ste. 1D
Lincoln, NE 68502
866.477.0822
402.477.0822

To contact the Yaeger Family:

C/O Yaeger Family
PO Box 5818
Lincoln, NE 68505-5818

---

KMTV says on its Web site: "SWomeone is pretending to be a member of the Yaeger family, going to businesses and getting donations -- but it's all a scam -- and the family is upset. If you run across the person, call the police."

[sentra122-2009]

the law is the law!!!!!
if the father wasn''t a stupid criminal in the first place he could spend every second with his daughter. he should have thought about the impact on his kids before he committed the crime.

[clmonroe]

My heart goes out to the Yaeger family. Jayci''s strong spirit will live forever through you guys! May God Bless You!

[salty1954]

The War on Drugs is a failure!
The war on drugs is a scam to raise money for prisons,cops and judges.
The US Government is the main supplier of cocaine in America.

[anopinion1]

This will be a rude statement but....

Ok the dad is a drug dealer who got busted. Woman married a drug dealer....hmmm woman does drugs during pregnancy????(maybe??)...daughter gets brain cancer????
I can''t help but wonder...

[b36pilot]

There are plenty of us who are law abiding citizens-yet, we too could have compassion for all concerned. Many of us have made calls to let uncompassionate, cold hearted federal officials know that love ultimately prevails. May the entire family, yes-Jason included, that many of his are very supportive-Jason will now complete his sentence and I''m sure he will have learned because he did his time-we love all of you!

[newsreader57]

this story gave me chills. that poor little girl was waiting for her father to hold her had so she could let go. It is not her fault what her father did. she was an innocent little girl, now she is an angel.

[bikermomx2]

The poor children have a screwed up family. Welcome to life! Do your time...maybe this will be the best rehabilitation there is for him...he has another daughter to consider and just maybe he will will think of her before he does another crime. The warden has a good reason to keep in jail. There is probably more to it than you know...but the warden is showing lots of respect to him by not telling you EVERYTHING!

[azcagirl]

I am happy that she got to see her daddy one last time. They are all in my thoughts.

[cfin5]

The poor little girl. I''m wipin'' my eyes while I''m scribbling here. I''m so glad she got to see her Daddy even for a little bit. I''m glad that all little children go to Heaven when they die.....I don''t feel like talking anymore here today.

[beader59]

I think it was fine that the prison let him out for limited visits. It is his fault he was in prison as a criminal and not to be able to be by his daughter''s side. I feel so sorry for the daughter, no one so yound should die such a horrible death. But, he hadn''t paid his debt to society yet, no matter how close he was. I hate to be mean, but he made his decisions and he has to live with them.

[yoopermom]

We all know that being a criminal is what caused his daughter to get cancer.{Sarcasm} I understand that the law is the law, but it isn%u2019t like he is a murderer or molester. He was an idiot for doing drugs, but his daughter should not have to suffer. She just wanted to see her father one more time. I guess everyone should be kissing the officials butts now though because they allowed her an entire 20 minutes with him. {Again, sarcasm}

How big of a threat can this guy be? They are planning to release him in August. And it isnt like he is using this as an excuse for an early release. He has said all along that he would serve his time entirely, just at a later time.

[blackwater66-2009]

"Judge not, lest you yourself be judged." said Jesus !

Your day WILL come !!

[azcagirl]

The poor children have a screwed up family. Welcome to life! Do your time...maybe this will be the best rehabilitation there is for him...he has another daughter to consider and just maybe he will will think of her before he does another crime. The warden has a good reason to keep in jail. There is probably more to it than you know...but the warden is showing lots of respect to him by not telling you EVERYTHING! Posted by Bikermomx2 at 10:11 AM : Mar 28, 2008
WOW! That''s rude. You are failing to realize that the story is about HER being able to see him and not the other way around. And as for the warden showing him respect by not telling us everything...does it really matter? Are you going to sleep better at night knowing everything about this man? Live and let live people....

[yoopermom]

anopinion1,

That is alot of ASSUMING if you ask me!

[missnebula]

If you can''t do the time, don''t do the crime. The man is in jail for a reason. If he was black they wouldn''t have let him see his daughter the first time. He would be getting the news in a letter.
When you do devilishment you go to jail. thats the facts. you don''t get to come home just because someone dies or you''re gonna miss baby''s first steps. You get to sit your butt in jai and rot,thats your punishment. You accept responsibility for your actions by going to jail and you have to accept that you messed up everyone that loves you lives too.
Just make sure that when you get out you don''t go back.

[yoopermom]

Didnt take long for someone to throw in the race card.

[ranger1948]

Noone knows the whole story about this man and what is in his file. He got five years and is serving five years. If he was a model prisoner he would have gotten time off for good behavior. I am really heart broken for this little girl, but i blame the father not the system. The warden has rules he has o follow. The public has no idea what he is allowed to do or not do. Have some compassion for the warden also. He did make arrangements for 4 visits plus additional phone priviedges.

[mugaloh]

I worked in a federal prison for 15 years. This inmate isn''t the only one with an ill or dying family member. If you let one go, you have to let them all go. If he thought about his daughter in the first place, maybe he wouldn''t be in prison. Yeah, some inmates change for the better while they''re incarcerated, but that doesn''t mean they should get special treatment, like being with family in this situation. Heck, then ALL the inmates would seemingly "change for the better." Several inmates I dealt with had little or nothing to do with their kids until they came to prison. Once they''re in, they want to write, call, etc., and be the dad they never were. While I am sorry for the loss of this young girl, Yankton staff followed procedure and even went above and beyond.

[ecoflame]

If anyone does even a cursory background of the prison, it''s location, who it houses, etc., they''d get a better idea of how ''unescorted'' these "prisoners" actually are. It''s an old college campus in the midst of Yankton,SD. It''s a minimum - minumum - security federal camp.

Mr. Yaeger was brought from a Minnesota prison camp to SD, unescorted, to be closer to his family.

But it''s so much easier to sit in judgement, isn''t it? Good luck with that when you''re in need of a compassionate response. Undoubtedly Mr. Yaeger has had to fight addiction. He wasn''t asking for a pardon; he was asking for a furlough to be with his daughter when she died.

Mr. Yaeger has already demonstrated he is not any sort of threat to society by his presence in a federal minimum security prison camp. (It is not a prison as one typically thinks.)

[advanceus]

I am so glad she was able to have her dad with her if only for 20 minutes. Poor baby, hopefully she is running and jumping in heaven. And you people that think that since the little girl died should be a good rehab for dad are a bunch of a$$holes!!! You should be ashamed of yourselves.

[why_ma_raner]

You know what? I don''t know the guy so I''m not going to have an opinion here.

[republic1776]

Regardless of what crimes her father may have commited.
This was all about the little girl.
Very sad to see a child suffer and cheated of life.

[richnj1]

You know what? I don''''t know the guy so I''''m not going to have an opinion here.
-- Posted by why_ma_raner at 10:43 AM : Mar 28, 2008

But just remember, he is in MINIMUM SECURITY - this is like Martha Stewart''s prison. People who are a threat to society aren''t placed there. I''m not saying that minimum security prisons are a fun existence, but they don''t put dangerous people there. They could probably have told this guy to go home for 7 days and report back at 10:00 a.m. one week from today, and he''d be back. If he were to run away, he would risk being recaptured and sent to a real prison.

[jfred583]

I think that he was blessed to go and be with his daughter as much as he was given. I think that if he wanted to spend more time with his daughters he wouldn''t have done the crime to land him in jail. I have a bro.-in-law who is in prison for the next 3 1/2 years and he has 5 small children with my sister, yes, I want him to be with his children, but he knows that what he did was wrong and it''s only right that he serves his time. He realized that his priority is those children and being a real father to them, now, after he''s been put away. I wish the best for Jason Yaeger and his family, and I hope that his other little girl won''t have t obe without him for much longer.

[tomanyt]

If this guy went to prison for doing drugs, should he be in drug-rehab instead of prison?

[lemonskink]

Twenty minutes was the amount of time he got to spend with her. He asked to be released to a half-way house, and in August he will be anyway. A cold society under the penal system. Remember this folks:

If you ever want to see the real dredges of society, go to your local prison at shift change and watch the people who earn their bread and butter on the misery of others.

Remember Abu Ghraib. It''s here in America.

[beeeeeeeball]

HE OR SHE without sin cast the first stone!have any of you died yet? i don''t think so.then you don''t know what this CHILD was going through.You sit there so righteous but id like to walk with you a couple of days.I bet you gossip about everyone.resist being evil and do good.shame on you!

[karma1231]

it just seems that not letting them visit was a punishment to the daughter, not to the father. She didn''t do anything to deserve that.

[tomanyt]

Prisoners are people too!!!!

[avataroftech]

Now Jayci is Rest In Peace, and she get what she wished for and she knows her father was there for her before her final journey to heaven.

Please stop these "point finger and blaming game", respect and let the family in peace too while they prepared for the funeral for Jayci.

Hopefully her father will be able to attend the funeral and say goodbye for the last time, and then back to prison to do his time and collecting his thought for the better tommorow with the rest of family, his wife Vonda and Jayci sister Shelby.

[ubrew12]

This is compassionate conservatism at its best.

Along with punishing girls with brain cancer for their fathers drug addiction, I think we should throw kids into the poorhouse until their parents can pay their debts.

[antoniof123]

Let me see traitors get pardons and people who are not a threat to our society sit in jail. Please expalin that one.

To the warden and the governor I hope that you don''t ever have something like this happen but the old saying what goes around comes around may turn out to be true for you. And the rest of you who sit and judge because it was the child that suffered not the rest of you.

[jumkey]

This inmate isn''t the only one with an ill or dying family member. If you let one go, you have to let them all go.

Posted by joyful62

Really? We let people off all time for worse crimes. The legal system is wildly disparate and inconsistent and we treat people completely differently depending on their social and political connections.

Ken Lay caused untold damage to thousands upon thousands of people and died never having to answer for his crimes. I don''t know the extent of this guy''s offense but white collar criminals walk in this country and poor do time.

This isn''t a legal system as much as a system of political persecution.

[navychief8]

I don''t want to comment on the politics of this. But I would like to say something about this little girl who held out for her Daddy. I believe that is exactly what she did. She was I believe, a very strong and brave soul. The power of love for a Father, Mother, or sibling can allow a person push ones self farther than what is thougth to be possible.

Four years ago my Father was dying of lung Cancer and he was stubornly hanging on to life in the hospital. Suffering and in great pain. I was on deployment off of South America and I got to call him from my ship while we were at Sea. he couldn''t talk, but I told him that I loved him and that I wouldbe home soon. But that if he was hurting, it was ok to let go. That I understood. My wife said he gave a thumbs-up. A short time later, he left this world. I was sad not to be there, but happy that he trusted me enough to be able to let go.

I am glad she got to see her Daddy and he her. It would have been nice to be there until the end. But I think she knew it was ok to let go after she saw her Daddy.

Be nice to each other on these posts and out in the world. We are all Dads, Moms, and Siblings.

[barbaraf4]

I don''t understand why the Make-a-Wish Foundation didn''t get involved in this. I know there are limited people who can nominate a child (Mother, Father, etc), but why didn''t the Foundation contact them and walk them through it. Anyway, I glad the little girl got to see her father one last time, and I am glad she is no longer suffering. God Bless.

Why are they posting addresses to help the family? I am so tired of a relatives death becoming a lottery win.

[jstovson]

The "father" should have thought about the little girl when he was out commiting his drug related charges. How sad, he could have been with her for 4 1/2 more years.

[karma1231]

Why are they posting addresses to help the family? I am so tired of a relatives death becoming a lottery win.

Posted by barbaraf4 at 11:17 AM : Mar 28, 2008
-------------------------------

A lottery win???!! They posted the address incase compassionate people want to donate a little towards funeral expenses and possibly very expensive hospital bills. I highly doubt this family struck gold. I''m sorry to hear that you are "tired" of such a positive act.

[cntrygrllst]

barbaraf4
Why are they posting addresses to help the family? I am so tired of a relatives death becoming a lottery win.
You are obviously unaware of the incredible cost of cancer treatment. Even with health insurance it can completely distroy a famlily. not to mention the fact that this is a ONE parent income family at the time.
One income is hard to make it on in the best of situations. Being a hospice nurse, I have seen people lose everything due to this monster we know as cancer so yes this family most likely needs the help.

[a-ji]

Lesson from the story... never get involve on things we will regret. My prayers goes with the family.

[packerschiq]

She didn''t lose her battle with cancer, she WON! She got her wish and then Jesus called her home. How much better could that be?!

[frogsgirl1]

How sad that the public officials that our tax money pays for are so heartless as to ignore a sick little girl. This wasn''t about her dad, she shouldn''t have to pay for his mistakes. I lost my Dad and my best friend both to cancer within the last 2 years, it is a horrible monster disease that destroys not just the person who has it but the family and friends as well. It robs you of the life you would have had with that person. As to the comment about the family "winning the lottery", shame on you, they have lost more than you will ever know, no amount of money can replace a CHILD! My mom works for a funeral home and the expense to bury someone cheaply is over $10,000.00, that family has "won" nothing. It is a shame that there are so many heartless people in this world, God probably looks down and cries daily. It is also a shame that we cannot teach our kids that the police and public officials are our friends and are there to do good, this heartless act by the warden proves that they are not, unfortunately so many public officials and police are suffering from huge egos and power trips, they forget to be people. Mr. Yeager did not commit murder, rape, robbery, he should have been allowed to be with his daughter when she drew her last breath. Cancer and the warden have both robbed this child and her family. My prayers and blessings go out to the Yeager family.

[infidel_us]

No credit to Fox News for breaking this story and bringing pressure to bear on the judge and worden to let the man have visitation.

They deserve a BIG humanitarian hand.

[tomanyt]

jstovson...People make mistakes. I''m willing to bet your are not perfect either.

[vickikay1]

As it is so sad that this little girl was unable to spend what little time she had left with her daddy, was the fault of her daddy and not that of the facility her father was in. Her father took it upon himself to do the things he did. IF he had chosen a different life style then thing surely could have been different. By the way how many life''s and families has her father destroyed because of the drugs? Don''t even try and blame this on the warden, governor or the state. This problem of not being with his daughter is his and his alone.

[bettyh0950]

This wasn''t about the father and HIS wishes. This was about THE DAUGHTER. A little innocent, frightened, suffering child who wanted her Daddy by her side. There is no doubt that he should serve his time either prison or rehab and I''m willing to bet that this experience will make him a stronger person and perhaps this is why it happened this way. She is now by her Daddy''s side and I pray that he can realize this and live the rest of his life for her and the rest of his family and they will all be rewarded.

[tomanyt]

VickiKay1...You make the assumption that he is selling drugs. This article only stated "drug-related" charges.

[whateves]

Oh well, sucks to be a drug dealer

[ici2i]

If prisons are all about reform and returning those incarcerated to become useful members of society, apparently the state of Nebraska doesn''t understand that concept. Instead of showing what the meaning of compassion and caring is all about, they missed an ideal opportunity to ensure this man and others clean up their acts once and for all. Didn''t it occur to them that he could become bitter, depressed and withdrawn? Yes, this was about his daughter''s need to be with her father, but it was also an ideal way of giving this guy a reason to stay clean. If we imprison merely for punishment and are unyielding in extreme circumstances, the system fails and repeat offenders overwhelm society.

[liberalme]

Why are they posting addresses to help the family? I am so tired of a relatives death becoming a lottery win.

Posted by barbaraf4 at 11:17 AM : Mar 28, 2008

Wow--I guess, unless something like this happens to you--is just doesn''t matter.
This is a heartfelt article and your lack of compassion is in vast contrast to the other posts here.
You''re a sad pathetic excuse for a human being.

My heartfelt condolences to the family--I know their daughter will be greatly missed.

[bdrlnt4rl]

As it is so sad that this little girl was unable to spend what little time she had left with her daddy, was the fault of her daddy and not that of the facility her father was in. Her father took it upon himself to do the things he did. IF he had chosen a different life style then thing surely could have been different. By the way how many life''''s and families has her father destroyed because of the drugs? Don''''t even try and blame this on the warden, governor or the state. This problem of not being with his daughter is his and his alone.


Posted by VickiKay1

@@@@@@@@@@@@@

so true, too many people blaming authority for their bad fortune. choose a life that will give no reason to be in prison. if you know drugs will be present, or any type of bad behavior, leave, get out before you spend time in jail. no such thing as wrong place at the wrong time when it comes to this, you just leave, or blame yourself, not others.

sad situation for this family. i am glad she was able to feel her daddy''s love. sorry that he missed out on the last several years of her life. that would have really helped her with her illness. she is truely happy now.