TAMPA, Fla. — Stacy King’s son, Colton, was diagnosed with a rare form of Leukemia, and the journey has been stressful.
“It was really hard, and it affected the whole family. And so, all of our lives really changed," said Stacy.
She continued, “It was really shocking because all of a sudden, your life stops and freezes, and you're completely isolated and completely quarantined. And so, we have really been not around any people for a year and a half because his body and his immune system couldn't handle it.”
Colton’s isolation was challenging. That was until he met Jake Klopfenstein with Angling for Relief.
Through the nonprofit, Jake teaches kids with cancer, either in person or over FaceTime, how to dry fish from their hospital beds.
“The main point of it is the three-foot fishing rod that we give them that they can just sit inside their bed. They can literally have an IV, receiving chemo actively, while casting and having fun distracting themselves,” explained Jake Klopfenstein.
And Colton caught on to fishing quickly.
“I would be just sitting there on my bed, using it just like over and over again. And then like reeling it back in,” said Colton King.
The inspiration for the organization is near and dear to Jake's heart. It was created in honor of his friend who lost his battle with cancer.
“Growing up, I had a friend Ryan Baker, who went through cancer. And he was always in the hospital, never able to really be a kid, and obviously stressed out from the fact that he was diagnosed with cancer,” explained Jake.
“Jake, from the age of seven years old until almost 12, had just continued to kind of mope around about it. And I knew it was heavy on his heart. And he needed to do something to get that off of his heart, off of his chest,” said Toni Klopfenstein, Jake’s mother.
In 2018, Toni helped her son create a dry fishing kit to deliver to pediatric patients in the hospital. The goal was to help get their mind off cancer treatment.
“We just go in the hospital for three, four hours and visit anyone in inpatient, or sometimes in the infusion center that is in the hospital,” said Jake.
When each child gets released from the hospital, they take the skills they learned with the dry fishing kits and actually fish on the water.
Angling for Relief events bring countless memories and smiles to pediatric cancer patients and their families.
“It's just a wonderful escape and a great thing to do as a family. And there's something about the water and fishing. It just kind of feeds the soul,” said Stacy.
But the bond between Jake and these kids is priceless.
“He's really cool because also he's a teenager. So he's not like my mom is like talking about things like the dinosaur age,” said Colton.
But Jake said he gets just as much out of it as the kids do.
“I've never had a feeling match it ever in my life, not even catching the biggest fish ever. It's just the most rewarding feeling ever. And it's extremely meaningful to me that I can go in there and bring that relief to someone that's fighting something bigger than themselves,” explained Jake.
Angling for Relief is always looking for volunteers to help. And any donations are welcomed as well. You can learn more about the nonprofit by clicking here.
