AP

Jim Kelly turned 55 on Saturday, and despite a long list of health problems, he says he feels good.

“I’m blessed, a lot better off than a lot of other people, put it that way. I’m not here to complain, because I’m enjoying myself, that’s what you are supposed to do, have fun,” Kelly told the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle.

If Kelly had a pessimistic view of life, few would blame him. Cancer caused him to lose part of his jaw, he endured chemotherapy and after being diagnosed as cancer-free he had a new health problem when a MRSA infection hit.

“They found no cancer, thank God, but there are other issues,” Kelly said. “It’s like always, you go to a doctor and they tell you the great news and follow up with a ‘but.’ No, I said, no more ‘buts’ . . . I’m sick of ‘buts’!”

Kelly said that as he reflects on his situation in life, he thinks less about his own health problems than about his late son Hunter, who died in 2005 at the age of 8.

“What’s sometimes hard for me is to see the joy my daughters have spending quality time with their mother,” Kelly said. “I know I’m missing out on that from the father-and-son standpoint. I love my daughters to death, but not like having a son. You dream about what could have been. And then I realize, even through his suffering, he’s made me the man I am today.”

Kelly chooses to see the challenges in his life as learning experiences. There’s a lesson there for all of us.