Fishing for a Kidney

CLICK THIS LINK TO LEARN MORE ABOUT KIDNEY DISEASE AND HOW YOU MAY BE ABLE TO HELP

It’s been almost a year since the last blog post I made here. It’s pretty cliché to say “lots of things can happen in a year” but I think of all years, this one may qualify for it. I want to thank you for taking the time to come over here and read this post on Fathers Day. It’s definitely not a regular fly fishing blog post, and quite frankly has little to do with it, but it is also very related at the same time.

Personally, I’ve always found it easier to be straight forward with my thoughts on most subjects. But on the subject at hand, I have for whatever reason, been reluctant to share. It’s just not as simple as saying; my dad, Thaxton Kypke, has kidney disease and is need of a kidney donor. I’ve known about this for some time now, surely not as long as my parents, but it has taken me far too long to use the tiny little platform I have to share this. I’m sure part of my reluctance comes from my parents. I also know a big portion of it is my personal conflict of using my business to shed a light on a personal interest.

Sure, ReelFly has a social media presence, but if you know me and talk to me you will also know I can’t stand that aspect of this industry. It’s why you don’t see posts from us ALL THE TIME. I’ve always said that if I actually make it in the fly fishing world the first thing I’ll do is hire a social media person. For now, you’ll have to put up with my attempts at fishing glamour.

That’s a big contributor in my hesitancy in sharing my dad’s story via social media. Two things I can’t stand, my dads kidney disease and social media, all wrapped up into one shiny package for everyone to read. But you know what doesn’t matter at all? In the very least? What I think. What matters is that we find support and possibly a donor for my dad. After all, he’s the reason I am even writing this. Not because you know, I’m his son, but because he’s the one that introduced me to fly fishing.

Of all the questions I get asked in the shop or on the raft I would say two are the most common, “How long have you been fly fishing” and “what/who got you into fly fishing”. Those are connected very simply by one common thread, my dad. In all honesty I have been fly fishing since I can remember. That’s an odd response but it’s the truth. We used to spend a lot of our summer break as a family fishing the upper Rio Grande River in the Weminuche Wilderness area of Colorado. My dad, mom, and brother would all eventually enjoy fly fishing but I was absolutely enamored with it. If I had to put a number on it, I bet I had a fly rod in my hand by the age of 5ish?

The infatuation with fly fishing didn’t stop at the Colorado/New Mexico state line. I brought it back to Texas with me and now just about anywhere I travel to that has water. Fly fishing has brought a ton of joy to my life, from growing up on the Texas coast to taking a father/sons trip to Mexico. Eventually all of this led me to owning this business. I can light heartedly say “thank you dad” for that.

In this brief post, I want to share how my connection to a hobby I love, is directly related to my dad. He is responsible for this craziness, and I want to be responsible in another way for him. I want to share his story. If you only have a few more minutes after reading through this post, please please please take the time and visit my dad’s website *CLICK HERE* THIS LINK RIGHT HERE *CLICK HERE* to learn more about him and the kidney disease that we are dealing with.

Thank you from the bottom of whatever fishy waters you pursue.

-Donovan Kypke