Grant a Wish Outdoor Adventure
Posted By admin on January 1, 2009
Alligator hunt Lake Istokpoga, August 15-17 2008
This past weekend was the opening of gator season. 16 year-old Tom Widenhofer from Pennsylvania and 24 year-old Kim Jankowsky from Massachusetts, were each able to make dreams become a reality on Lake Istokpoga through the collaborated efforts of Safari-Wish and BIll Booth Outdoors. While it was a father’s objective to provide his 16 year-old son with a lifetime of memories, it was a mother’s dream to create her own memories and have them recorded so her two year-old daughter could one day reflect how her mom lived life to the fullest.
Henderson’s Fish Camp became the center of the event. The fun started two days earlier when Bass Pro Shops in Ft. Myers, Florida granted a Shopping Spree. While the carts were filled freely with merchandise, the tears behind the scenes fell freely, admiring the strength and courage the “weak” can filter to the “supposed” strong.
Tom was the first to hunt. Two chase boats were on hand to capture the hunt on film. A paramedic was also on location in the event Tom would have a seizure due to his Giloblastoma Multiforme IV brain cancer. Though the night was long, the thrill of the hunt would last until the wee hours of morning, allowing Tom to bag his very first alligator.
Once re-energized with some shut-eye, the weekend events unveiled everything from fishing, tag football, air boat rides, Texas hold ‘em (for chocolates) and a huge bar-b-cue where 70 friends and family enjoyed country music.
As night fell, Kim suited up. Instruction and safety precautions were once again repeated. Kim just had chemo 5 days earlier and the effects of the chemo were still fresh. There would be no time to think about her GTD, a metastasized uterine cancer. Off into the moon-filled night she went, returning several hours later with her alligator. If there were a ever a thing such as the “Gator Trot Dance”, Kim invented it!
The weekend was a success. As the sunset painted the sky with beauty, the beauty of many caring
hearts made dreams come true.
I would like to thank all of our sponsors for making this episode possible!
Bill Booth