By Lu Yenter
TOMAHAWK – Our precious little grandson Jayden passed away on July 16, 2015 at the young age of six. He was born with a congenital heart defect (CHD) called hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS).
He underwent three open heart surgeries in his short lifetime, the first one being at just four days of age. Several months after his third surgery, they realized he was in heart failure, and he was listed for a heart transplant.
After three and a half long months, we got the call from my daughter that they had found a match for him. He received his heart transplant on July 16, 2013.
On Jan. 19, 2015 he suffered a heart attack. His new heart was failing fast, so he was then re-listed for a second heart transplant. He remained hospitalized waiting for his new angel heart, but his health continued to deteriorate. In May of 2015, he was placed with two Berlin Hearts (mechanical hearts).
Sadly, Jayden never recovered and lost his courageous battle with CHD exactly two years to the day he received his angel heart, July 16, 2015.
To keep Jayden’s memory alive, we decided to pay it forward. In the last six years, we have raised more than $60,000.00 for different foundations, with the last four years benefitting Kinship of Tomahawk. Last year was our best year to date, raising more than $13,000.00.
This year, the tournament will be held on Saturday, July 15, 2023 at Veterans Memorial Park in Tomahawk. Fishing starts at 8 a.m., and fish must be registered by 3 p.m. at the dock, where we will have a Jiggin’ for Jayden banner up!
You do not need to register to fish, but we ask that you have a Jiggin’ for Jayden tee shirt. A limited number and sizes of Jiggin’ for Jayden shirts may be available at the event. Some shirts from past tournaments may be available as well.
We will have three categories this year: Most weight in panfish (1st, 2nd and 3rd place); most weight in game fish (1st, 2nd and 3rd place); and largest musky (catch and release only). Pictures need to be taken with your fish, sportin’ your Jiggin’ for Jayden shirt. Also, a picture will need to be taken with the length of your fish (1st place only, as we all know they are the fish of 10,000 casts!).
For those who don’t want to fish, additional activities start at noon.
For more information, call Lu Yenter at 715-630-6019. Follow us on Facebook at www.tinyurl.com/37d5mcr6 for more details.