Sixteen years ago, Hope Feltenberger met The Jester & Pharley for the first time. A 5-year-old patient, she was tired of all the hospitalizations she had endured. And so was her mother. “Then, I received The Jester book and doll and could take them into the hospital playhouse,” Hope recalls. “They gave me something to look forward to when I was going through a difficult time. And I got to take The Jester book and doll home!”
Now 21, Hope still finds inspiration in David Saltzman’s story. “When I got a mild case of Covid-19, The Jester & Pharley and David helped me cope. I have realized that what I grew up with shows me how I can do truly anything. Ultimately, if you set your mind to do something, you can do it. And The Jester Has Lost His Jingle is one of those things that told me I can do anything.”
Hope’s mom Judi Feltenberger helped find the positive attitude she needed in The Jester Has Lost His Jingle to support her daughter through her medical challenges. “When you get down about a situation, you have to bring yourself back,” she says. “We have it within ourselves to do that. It doesn’t come out on its own.”
The Jester & Pharley are always right beside them when they need to rediscover their smiles. “The happiness is in yourself,” Judi says. “And you have to find a way to bring it out,” just as The Jester & Pharley do.
