“I feel like I could probably write a book about Cohen’s journey from surgery while he was still in the womb to the incredible young man he is today. This summary will never do him justice but here I go.
My name is Carley King. I am the father of an incredible little boy named Cohen King. Cohen was diagnosed with Spina Bifida January 2020. My wife Ashley was 20 weeks pregnant with Cohen when we found out. I can remember that day like it was yesterday. We were shattered. We had so many questions. As a man, you always dream of one day having a little boy playing baseball and rounding third after hitting a homerun. You can’t wait until he can play tackle football. All that was out the window that day, but one thing I knew for certain (and honestly means more to me than any sport ever would) is that he couldn’t hunt and fish. Or so I thought…
Cohen has been through so much his first 5 years of life. He’s had multiple surgeries and does Physical Therapy 2-3 times a week. Still, with all this he does it all with a smile! He has taught me so much in his short time on earth. Thankfully, the past couple of years his love for the outdoors has developed and grown. Every night before bed we are going to watch turkey hunting or deer hunting.
This year I debated on if he was ready mentally to handle the part of turkey hunting most tv shows don’t show you….failure. He is a determined and strong willed so I went with my gut and put plan in motion for opening day of youth season. I could not do it alone so I want to give tons of credit to Maddox Magee and Dalton Brabham for making this dream a reality.
Opening Day: We struck out early. We left EARLY because we had a long walk and I had to carry Cohen in. The morning of the hunt was Christmas morning for him. He just couldn’t believe the day had finally come. We knew two long beards were in the area and our chances of hearing them and see them were high. Honestly, that’s all the expectations I had for the morning. I just wanted him to hear and see them. Just get a feel for it. We finally got back to the spot. We got settled in with Cohen in my lap.
I could tell Cohen was getting very nervous as we sat but I made sure he understood that there is no pressure. We are here to hunt and have good time. We whispered about where they come from and to make sure he could see the red dot. I would tell him when to shoot. All the good stuff. He took a deep breath and said “I got it dad” ha! Truth is, I was more nervous for him than I was for myself when I was his age. It wasn’t long until the action started to pick up.
Maddox and Dalton were 20 feet to our left and for whatever reason I happened to look that way and his eyes were big! He signaled that he saw two longbeards coming this way. Cohen got into position and then the spitting and drumming began. I asked Cohen if he heard them. “Oh, yea dad I hear them” then I heard him taking a deep breath.
After 5 mins or so, they finally swung out in front. They came from right to left and as I spotted them I asked Cohen, “can you see them?”. He responded “Oh my gosh yes!”. I told him to put the red dot on the front bird and when he stopped shoot him. The bird stopped. I said “shoot, shoot, shoot,” BOOM
The back bird flew off. The front bird disappeared over the edge of the sandbar. I honestly thought he missed. Maddox and Dalton immediately got up and started running. “He got em! He got em!” they both yelled. I jumped up with Cohen in my arms both of us silent until we saw the evidence. There he was… and a hammer of a bird. Fist bumps and bear hugs were had by all and the emotions were wild. He did it! 1 week post surgery with casts from his feet to his waist and he didn’t let that stand in the way of his hunt. It’s been 4 days and I am still on a high from that morning. Nothing I have ever hunted or killed will compare to that morning. He has fought his entire life and endured more than most adults with a smile. As we walked to get our stuff we just completely dropped in the chaos. He said “Thank the Lord”. Amen to that buddy!
Written by Carley King, Cohen’s father
