I know there are people that love her and some that hate her. We had a great time with her this weekend. She treated us like we were VIP's. The first night we were in NYC we walked to Times Square and took the Subway back to the hotel. We loved it, but she couldn't believe that we came to NYC to do an interview with her and had to take the Subway. She totally took over from there and got us a personal driver for the rest of the trip. It was funny she had like 30 people on her staff and she said I want them to go to Saturday Night Live get me Lorne Michaels and all of them were on their cell phones. Then she said no, Kaylee is only 6 I want her to go to Serendipities for Dinner and they were all calling. She was great. SHe pulled me aside before the interview and said. Don't be nervous, there are no wrong answers. If I don't like your answer I will just ask it again until you answer it right. After we were done her photo team was taking pictures and I was taking one with her and I felt something on the back of my head. When we were done I heard her whispering to my daughter, wait til you dad sees the picture that I gave him bunny ears in.


http://www.flickr.com/photos/49634711@N07/4552713425/

My wife, Kaylee, & I with Barbara


http://www.flickr.com/photos/49634711@N07/4553353582/
My 3 Boys getting ready to do their interview

Great story. Looking forward to watching the interview.

That's awesome! When will the interview air??

Not sure. They are hoping May 21st. CAn someone help me with posting pics? I did it before, but for some reason I can't get the pictures to show up. Thanks

Bear with me, I've rarely been on this site between January and now.....why were you interviewed by Barbara Walters? And did she make you cry?

Just imbed the image properties between , no spaces.

My daughter Kaylee has an extremely rare condition called Progeria which causes her to age 8-10 times faster than the normal person. It only occurs in about 1 in 8 million births. Last year we were contacted to do a story for TLC to help spread the word about the condition and the work being done to help find a cure. Since that story aired we have had a lot of people contact us to do stories. We did the Dr. Oz show about 2 months ago and then when Barbara Walters and ABC contacted us we decided to do ti too. I don't like doing them, but if it helps raise awareness and money to the cause then it is worth it.

As for Barbara Walters making me cry, not really on camera. I did tear up pretty good when she was interviewing my boys. My boys love their sister a lot. She asked my boys if they are afraid of losing their little sister and my oldest age 12 said that he doesn't like to think about it, but my youngest age 8 said I just want Kaylee to have the best life she can. I can tell you when he said that everyone on the set was crying and Barbara had to take a break.

Barbara told me afterward that she couldn't believe how strong we are through all this. It is not easy, but we were told almost 6 years ago that Kaylee would only live to about 13. She asked me questions like "Does it bother you that you may outlive your daughter?" and things like that, but I told her I don't focus on that anymore. I focus day to day and making sure that we provide Kaylee with the best life we can. We are going to fight until the end. Kaylee is 6 years old and has done more than most people have done that are 10 times older than her. She has gotten to meet numerous celebrities. She is living life to the fullest and I am happy for her. It was great to get the VIP treatment in NYC, but to me she deserves it.

I guarantee Kaylee has done more in her 6 years than I have done in the 29 yrs of my life. She is on an amazing ride!!

Rider,

Thanks so much for the info, and I am sorry if it bothers you to have to explain it again. My heart goes out to you and your family, and my thoughts will be with you all. Seems like your daughter has a hell of a family through it all, so I'd tend to consider her lucky.

I'm a little more interested in this condition which up until now I did not know about.

All the best!

Finally got the pictures on

I put it out on Facebook. If the date of the airing changes, please let us know!

Rider_In_Ttown wrote:

My 3 Boys getting ready to do their interview

I've been following the story of your daughter on here and I applaud your humbleness in the face of the growing notoriety. I wonder if I could be the dad you are if given the same situation.

This has gotta be tough on your boys... so much attention on their sister. There is no doubt they have a grasp of her situation, love her and want the best for her. I can only imagine the situation they feel they are in...

Hopefully your daughter and the rest of your family enjoyed the VIP treatment and got to see some cool things in NY.

Can't wait to watch the interview....Your great parents(keep up the good job).

Mooney,

I have no problems ever talking about it. When Kaylee was diagnosed almost 6 years ago the doctors knew nothing. Since then they found the gene that causes it and have actually cured it in the lab. Kaylee is in a drug trial now and we are very optimistic. The harsh reality of the disease as we found out this weekend is that the average age is 13, not the guaranteed age. A boy that we know from Pennsylvania that is almost two years younger than Kaylee suffered a major stroke just a few days ago. I can tell you that we have Kaylee checked often and she does not show any sign of blockage anywhere.

SE - Kaylee has a group called SweetKaylee on facebook. I have a lot more pics on there of our NYC trip with Barbara Walters and the Dr. Oz Show. I also update that group as to what is up with Kaylee. I will defiantely also post something on here too.

Apple- I don't ever want to sound like some tough guy that never cries. Trust me my wife and I have had numerous tough nights. It is weird, most nights we are fine and then we will have a tough night. I think most dad's would do anything in their power to protect their kids. It is actually easy, Kaylee is so full of life and has us laughing all the time. I think it is the same with my boys. There are days they are down and my wife and I are always there to talk to them, but it is tough to get down because Kaylee doesn't let you.

I can remember seeing a couple of different threads on this back in the day. Good to see she is doing well as can be expected. I wish you all the best.

Wish the best for your family and especially your daughter. People like her change the world.

I have always liked Barbara. She is highly professional and has great empathy for those in circumstances that are very difficult. I have always considered her to be among the top interviewers on television.

Rider, thanks for sharing. I'll say a prayer for you and your family, and the doctors finding the treatment that will help Kaylee even more. I'll pass on the link to facebook for more awareness about Progeria.

How cool for Kaylee and your family. I was never a big Barbara fan, but I think after this I've changed my mind.

sounds like Barbara is a very nice lady.

Your daughter and your family are very strong people. prayers to all of you

I'm glad to hear Barbara Walters treated your family with dignity and respect. I think sometimes the media gets caught up in nonsense and its nice to read a story about real people with real issues. Thank you again for your candidness and all the best to your family.

Rider, I think I saw the story of your daughter on TLC this weekend, or at least very recently. I'm horrible remembering names but there were two Ohio girls involved, one was in Toledo and the other somewhere nearby. I know one of the girls got a wet suit so she could go swimming.

Both of the little girls, and their parents, were quite remarkable! Good luck and prayers to Kaylee and her family.

hilliardfan wrote: Rider, I think I saw the story of your daughter on TLC this weekend, or at least very recently. I'm horrible remembering names but there were two Ohio girls involved, one was in Toledo and the other somewhere nearby. I know one of the girls got a wet suit so she could go swimming.

Both of the little girls, and their parents, were quite remarkable! Good luck and prayers to Kaylee and her family.

That was us. My daughter was not the one with the wetsuit, she was the other one.

Rider, thank you for sharing this. Despite only barely knowing your "online persona," I have much respect for you wanting to spread the word about this rare condition. My respect for you and your family, and best wishes to all of you.