A Little Girl's Dying Wish

[Love_Mama]

Thank you Taximom. My son dealt with a lot of depression every since he got back from Iraq. Not with what happened over there but with what happened here when he was gone. He wanted so much to be a father. He wanted his wife pregnant before he left. He was afraid something might happen to make him sterile while over there. He loved kids with all his heart. He rededicated his life to christ and was rebaptized Feb. 2007. He went back into depression after finding out his wife was pregnant by another man. July he shot himself in the head with a 12 gauge. The rifle slipped when he pulled the trigger and went through his cheeks. He just went down hill after that. His wife had her baby right before Christmas. He sang Whiskey Lullabye Christmas Eve at home. You could hear the pain in his voice. 9 days later he was gone. This is a page his sister made. He was 25 years old.

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=329691198

Tistcb. I just went to the my space that your daughter made for your son.
I am so very sorry for what happened to him......and for you whole family.
May He rest in peace.........

xxxxxxxxxxooooooo
mama
:blowkiss: :blowkiss:

 

[mostlylurking]

I wrote to several entities about this case, but only now just heard back from the Governor. (Nobody else replied.) Here's what they wrote:

Governor Rounds of South Dakota received your recent e-mail about Jayci Yaeger. Thank you for your concern regarding this sad situation. There has been much misinformation about thiscase. The first point of clarification we would like to make is that Inmate Yeager is a federal prisoner residing at the Federal Prison Camp in Yankton, SD. He is not under the jurisdiction of the State of South Dakota. When we became aware of this particular situation, our staff contacted the Chief of the Federal Bureau of Prisons in Washington, DC. Although the inmate is not eligible for a furlough under federal regulations, the federal prison staff in Yankton has escorted him to see his daughter in the hospital three times in the last 45 days and they are currently planning a 4th trip there. Additionally the warden has authorized unlimited phone calls between the inmate and his daughter's hospital room.

We agree with you that the way this story has been portrayed in some media releases has sounded very heartless. When we learned what the federal authorities had been doing to facilitate visits to the girl's bedside, we felt somewhat better about this heartbreaking situation.

Constituent Services
Office of the Governor
State of South Dakota
===========
TM here again - I thank the Governor's office for at least trying to get with the right people to help out and for their reply. I think Greg Jarrett on Fox said there was a problem reaching the heart of people at the state AG office...which would explain no reply from them!

At least Mr. Yeager had unlimited phone access and one last visit before she died. I am thankful for that.

I got the exact same response today, TM. I was going to post.
RIP Jayci.

 

[fran]

Thank you Taximom. My son dealt with a lot of depression every since he got back from Iraq. Not with what happened over there but with what happened here when he was gone. He wanted so much to be a father. He wanted his wife pregnant before he left. He was afraid something might happen to make him sterile while over there. He loved kids with all his heart. He rededicated his life to christ and was rebaptized Feb. 2007. He went back into depression after finding out his wife was pregnant by another man. July he shot himself in the head with a 12 gauge. The rifle slipped when he pulled the trigger and went through his cheeks. He just went down hill after that. His wife had her baby right before Christmas. He sang Whiskey Lullabye Christmas Eve at home. You could hear the pain in his voice. 9 days later he was gone. This is a page his sister made. He was 25 years old.

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=329691198

tlstcb:

My deepest condolences for the loss of your son. I viewed the myspace page you linked. Your daughter made a beautiful tribute to her brother.

:blowkiss:
fran

 

[JinxieJada]

I'm reading conflicting accounts. The AP article stated that he had several hours and did not leave other than a short period of time to talk w/ hospice officials on how/what to speak with her about and another article stated he only had a few minutes with her. I think he should be counting his lucky starts he was afforded what he got. Many people are not with their loved one, children included, when they take their last breath. "Morally" right or wrong that he wasn't fully released, Legally he was given a far greater opportunity than many are awarded. Legally, he is a criminal, and while he's done most of his time, he hasn't served all of it. What sets him apart than any other "petty" criminal (IE NOT murder, rape, crimes against a child etc is what I consider "Major" crime) that he should have gotten "special" treatment?

There are INNOCENT people in our prison systems, that are exonerated at a much later date, but in the meantime, people die, people are born, marriages (and divorces) happen etc. during that time.

And while this was for the most part about his daughters wishes, I'm truly glad that her wish was granted, but really think this guy should have thought about his choices, and while an addiction is an illness, he Chose to continue using, and he chose to place himself into a situation where he could face time for the choices he made during that time leading to his imprisonment. After all NOT all addicts, commit crimes, nor do all addicts go to jail/prison. And if he were operating a meth lab w/ a child around, he deserves exactly what time he has to serve as well as (IMO) more for putting a child into that situation.



I haven't seen the charges he was actually convicted of, only that it was meth related hence why I mentioned the above scenarious..I Do understand that either or may or may not be true..but I also believe that there are only so many "meth related" charges that one could face....

and now he wants to be let out so he can help with his other daughter? How come NO mention of her has been made throughout any media reports (And if she has been mentioned then my apologies, I just haven't seen them =) Again, these are choices he should have thought of previously. We're supposed to contribute to funding for him...for what? It's not in memorial of the daughter..it's too help out the family...with what?






Off my soapbox!

 

[imthemom]

I am just happy he did get to visit her one last time before she passed away and that she responded to him. I do wish he could have been there for her when she actually passed but getting to visit her for a little while is better than nothing.

 

[KarlK]

I'm reading conflicting accounts. The AP article stated that he had several hours and did not leave other than a short period of time to talk w/ hospice officials on how/what to speak with her about and another article stated he only had a few minutes with her. I think he should be counting his lucky starts he was afforded what he got. Many people are not with their loved one, children included, when they take their last breath. "Morally" right or wrong that he wasn't fully released, Legally he was given a far greater opportunity than many are awarded. Legally, he is a criminal, and while he's done most of his time, he hasn't served all of it. What sets him apart than any other "petty" criminal (IE NOT murder, rape, crimes against a child etc is what I consider "Major" crime) that he should have gotten "special" treatment?

Special circumstances I guess. I have no statistics but my guess is that the percentage of inmates who have a young child living through the last stages of a terminal condition must be very low and that each case is treated as a special case.

In such cases the main difference between state prisoners and federal inmates is that most states consider granting such permissions from a security point of view while under the new guidelines issued by the current Administration federal authorities maintain that emphasis should be focused on punishment.

I doubt however that the feds ever considered that a case could lead to such a PR disaster that they'd be forced to either bow to public outcry or face the possibility of having to pay a hefty political price. Bush may not care but McCain has to and in an election year party authorities pay more attention to the candidate's PR than to an unpopular sitting president. No matter how heartless politics can be, you just don't "punish" dying kids even when officially the punished is the father. Add to this the fact that the father was a minimum-security inmate drawing the last few months of his sentence and it doesn't leave much of a choice to the authorities.

 

[lisag]

I wrote to several entities about this case, but only now just heard back from the Governor. (Nobody else replied.) Here's what they wrote:

Governor Rounds of South Dakota received your recent e-mail about Jayci Yaeger. Thank you for your concern regarding this sad situation. There has been much misinformation about this case. The first point of clarification we would like to make is that Inmate Yeager is a federal prisoner residing at the Federal Prison Camp in Yankton, SD. He is not under the jurisdiction of the State of South Dakota. When we became aware of this particular situation, our staff contacted the Chief of the Federal Bureau of Prisons in Washington, DC. Although the inmate is not eligible for a furlough under federal regulations, the federal prison staff in Yankton has escorted him to see his daughter in the hospital three times in the last 45 days and they are currently planning a 4th trip there. Additionally the warden has authorized unlimited phone calls between the inmate and his daughter's hospital room.

We agree with you that the way this story has been portrayed in some media releases has sounded very heartless. When we learned what the federal authorities had been doing to facilitate visits to the girl's bedside, we felt somewhat better about this heartbreaking situation.

Constituent Services
Office of the Governor
State of South Dakota
===========
TM here again - I thank the Governor's office for at least trying to get with the right people to help out and for their reply. I think Greg Jarrett on Fox said there was a problem reaching the heart of people at the state AG office...which would explain no reply from them!

At least Mr. Yeager had unlimited phone access and one last visit before she died. I am thankful for that.

I got the same e-mail back from them yesterday as well....

 

[MsPooh]

Life is just so horribly unfair..I hope the powers that be that prevented this baby and her Daddy from being together at the end are aware that they have re-sentenced him to a lifetime of unimaginable grief. Rest In Peace little sweetheart. And to her Dad, you really are a special guy...you will be in so many prayers..take comfort in the fact that Jayci has become everyones child, and she is very much loved and thought about about by many in addition to her loving family.

 

[momof2squirts]

I am a family member of Jayci and she was diagnosed when she was 3 years old with the brain tumor. The doctor's were unable to remove the whole tumor, but she did go through many treatments to reduce the size of the tumor and prolong her life. Jason and Vonda knew early on in her diagnosis that she was terminal yet they both chose to continue to use meth. It was only a few years ago that Vonda herself was on house arrest for doing drugs, and Jason has been in trouble with the law many times since he was a teen. The halfway house that Jason is going to is known for being full of drugs. Knowing Jason, I'm almost positive that he will be right back into meth. Jason was supposed to see Jayci for a few hours on Wed, but one of the Omaha media stations showed up and because of the agreement that he made with the prison he was to have absolutely no contact with anyone in Lincoln,so they had to yank him out. So thanks to the media, Jayci didn't get the good-bye that only she deserved. Yes, I know I'm being hard on my own relation, but they didn't give Jayci the life she deserved while she was alive and then made the whole world feel pity for a meth user and dealer. I wonder how the families of the victims that Jason dealt meth to felt about all of this. I'm also wondering why Vonda's mom and step dad(who happens to be a narcotics police officer) didn't have anything to do with the whole media thing.

Jayci's funeral was today, I hope she saw all of us who really cared for her.

 

[Taximom]

Welcome, momoftwosquirts. My deepest condolences to you for the loss of a precious little girl.

Jayci's story snagged my heart because of Jayci, not her father. I don't think many feel pity for her father, at least those that I have talked to about this. I know I only wanted Jayci to have a wish granted.

I hope her father changes, but it doesn't sound like chances are good if what you say is true about the halfway house. That's a shame. He could really turn around and do something that would help others w/Jayci's condition.

Anyway, welcome to WS. :blowkiss:

 

[OneLostGrl]

I am a family member of Jayci and she was diagnosed when she was 3 years old with the brain tumor. The doctor's were unable to remove the whole tumor, but she did go through many treatments to reduce the size of the tumor and prolong her life. Jason and Vonda knew early on in her diagnosis that she was terminal yet they both chose to continue to use meth. It was only a few years ago that Vonda herself was on house arrest for doing drugs, and Jason has been in trouble with the law many times since he was a teen. The halfway house that Jason is going to is known for being full of drugs. Knowing Jason, I'm almost positive that he will be right back into meth. Jason was supposed to see Jayci for a few hours on Wed, but one of the Omaha media stations showed up and because of the agreement that he made with the prison he was to have absolutely no contact with anyone in Lincoln,so they had to yank him out. So thanks to the media, Jayci didn't get the good-bye that only she deserved. Yes, I know I'm being hard on my own relation, but they didn't give Jayci the life she deserved while she was alive and then made the whole world feel pity for a meth user and dealer. I wonder how the families of the victims that Jason dealt meth to felt about all of this. I'm also wondering why Vonda's mom and step dad(who happens to be a narcotics police officer) didn't have anything to do with the whole media thing.

Jayci's funeral was today, I hope she saw all of us who really cared for her.

I'm so sorry for your loss!

 

[drip~drop]

I am a family member of Jayci and she was diagnosed when she was 3 years old with the brain tumor. The doctor's were unable to remove the whole tumor, but she did go through many treatments to reduce the size of the tumor and prolong her life. Jason and Vonda knew early on in her diagnosis that she was terminal yet they both chose to continue to use meth. It was only a few years ago that Vonda herself was on house arrest for doing drugs, and Jason has been in trouble with the law many times since he was a teen. The halfway house that Jason is going to is known for being full of drugs. Knowing Jason, I'm almost positive that he will be right back into meth. Jason was supposed to see Jayci for a few hours on Wed, but one of the Omaha media stations showed up and because of the agreement that he made with the prison he was to have absolutely no contact with anyone in Lincoln,so they had to yank him out. So thanks to the media, Jayci didn't get the good-bye that only she deserved. Yes, I know I'm being hard on my own relation, but they didn't give Jayci the life she deserved while she was alive and then made the whole world feel pity for a meth user and dealer. I wonder how the families of the victims that Jason dealt meth to felt about all of this. I'm also wondering why Vonda's mom and step dad(who happens to be a narcotics police officer) didn't have anything to do with the whole media thing.

Jayci's funeral was today, I hope she saw all of us who really cared for her.

Wow.

Ya know, this sisuation brought me back to my own childhood and it was so sad reading about Jayci....the INNOCENT one in all of this.
Really, I don't care what the father did or didn't do. His time is almost up, he was a good prisioner and most importantly, his DYING daughter wanted ONLY to see her beloved daddy.
IMO, that was not a difficult wish to accomplish.
IMO, they should have just let him stay with Jayci until the very end. It was to comfote her above all others.
Yeah, I have a very mushy heart and feel that any dying child should get whatever they ask for without question.
I just think this could have been handeled much better.
I sure hope Jason got to attend his babys funeral at least! Did he??

Ps. I think meth is a horrible drug and don't condone it at all. Just for the record.

 

[drip~drop]

Rest In Peace Sweet Jayci....You left us much too soon....God must have needed a sweetie like you for some special assignment.:angel:

 

[momof2squirts]

Jason did get to go to the funeral and the federal prison guards reminded me of the secret service.

 

[Linda7NJ]

I am a family member of Jayce and she was diagnosed when she was 3 years old with the brain tumor. The doctor's were unable to remove the whole tumor, but she did go through many treatments to reduce the size of the tumor and prolong her life. Jason and Vonda knew early on in her diagnosis that she was terminal yet they both chose to continue to use meth. It was only a few years ago that Vonda herself was on house arrest for doing drugs, and Jason has been in trouble with the law many times since he was a teen. The halfway house that Jason is going to is known for being full of drugs. Knowing Jason, I'm almost positive that he will be right back into meth. Jason was supposed to see Jayci for a few hours on Wed, but one of the Omaha media stations showed up and because of the agreement that he made with the prison he was to have absolutely no contact with anyone in Lincoln,so they had to yank him out. So thanks to the media, Jayci didn't get the good-bye that only she deserved. Yes, I know I'm being hard on my own relation, but they didn't give Jayci the life she deserved while she was alive and then made the whole world feel pity for a meth user and dealer. I wonder how the families of the victims that Jason dealt meth to felt about all of this. I'm also wondering why Vonda's mom and step dad(who happens to be a narcotics police officer) didn't have anything to do with the whole media thing.

Joyce's funeral was today, I hope she saw all of us who really cared for her.

I am so sorry for your loss of such a sweet child. I just wanted you to know that I don't think anyone felt a shred of pity for her father. My concern was for a little girl's dying wish to be fulfilled. He may be the biggest jerk in the world, but not in the eyes of that little girl, and I respected her feelings.

 

[Linda7NJ]

Thank you Maximom. My son dealt with a lot of depression every since he got back from Iraq. Not with what happened over there but with what happened here when he was gone. He wanted so much to be a father. He wanted his wife pregnant before he left. He was afraid something might happen to make him sterile while over there. He loved kids with all his heart. He rededicated his life to Christ and was rebaptized Feb. 2007. He went back into depression after finding out his wife was pregnant by another man. July he shot himself in the head with a 12 gauge. The rifle slipped when he pulled the trigger and went through his cheeks. He just went down hill after that. His wife had her baby right before Christmas. He sang Whiskey Lullaby Christmas Eve at home. You could hear the pain in his voice. 9 days later he was gone. This is a page his sister made. He was 25 years old.

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?

fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=329691198

I am so so terribly sorry for your profound loss. I clicked on the link and immediately starting crying, it's a beautiful tribute.