For Jennifer Kaplinsky, it’s hard not to feel great and forget about life’s heavier struggles when you own a toy store. Every day, she’s surrounded by bright colors, playful clothes, fun accessories, toys you can touch, squeeze, poke at, and laugh with, and a seemingly endless stream of kids and adults of all ages who know full well that there’s no age limit when you enter Jen’s world of fun and games.
But behind the laughter, Jennifer is fighting a cancer diagnosis that has tested her strength in ways few can imagine.
“It’s normal for you to see my face in the store six days a week for eight to 10 hours a day. That’s normal for me, so much so that I often feel fine and forget that I have cancer,” Jennifer said. “Then I go to stand up and remember that I’m in a wheelchair.
“It’s like you’d have to put a seatbelt on it to keep me from jumping up to help someone. That’s just who I am, and people know that.”
As local families watch their kids settle into another school year, Learning Express Toys & Gifts and Neon Elephant in The Shops at Highland Village have been their go-to destinations for the latest trends and must-haves to make back-to-school time even more fun and exciting, and Jennifer is typically the first friendly face they see. These days, customers are quick to ask if she hurt her knee or ankle when they see the wheelchair, and it would be easy for Jennifer to play into that excuse. Instead, she refuses to hide behind what’s really going on.
In July, she was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a form of bone marrow cancer that causes lesions and painful damage to bones. The American Cancer Society estimates there will be 36,110 new cases diagnosed in the United States this year. Since this disease can progress silently, many people don’t realize they have it until they experience unexplained pain, a fracture, or abnormal results from routine blood tests. In Jennifer’s case, she had started limping randomly in May and attributed it to her typically active lifestyle at the store. It’s not uncommon for her to be moving around heavy boxes and running from one end of the store to the other.
She thought it was nothing more than a strained muscle. Unfortunately, she later slipped and fell at her house while getting out of the pool, and was rushed to the emergency room. It took just one X-ray to reveal she was dealing with something much worse.
“My left hip had quite a large lesion on it,” Jennifer said. She added that doctors are optimistic, but she will undoubtedly have a long journey ahead of her. “So, now I’m in a wheelchair and am not supposed to put any weight on my left leg. The next steps are chemotherapy followed by a stem cell transplant, more chemo, and then hip repair sometime next year. I don’t know what else to do other than tell people left and right and explain why I’m in a wheelchair. My husband and I told the kids first. We told our staff pretty quickly and are now telling customers. It would be easier not to say anything, but that’s just not how we operate.”
In the meantime, the longtime Lantana resident takes solace in the fact that she is constantly surrounded by toys and joyous vibes—even if her work schedule starts looking a little different moving forward. After spending 25 years in Corporate America, Jennifer retired and opened her Highland Village location in 2020. In 2022, she opened a kids’ clothing store called Neon Elephant and relocated it, along with Learning Express, to a combined storefront. In 2024, she acquired the Learning Express location in Plano.
In her eyes, owning a neighborhood toy store was the perfect opportunity to invest more time and energy into the community.
At Learning Express, she and her fantastic team have created a lively, interactive shopping experience that delights the young and the young at heart. On any given day, you can find them playing games, riding around on plasma cars, and providing a friendly, hands-on atmosphere for all. Providing toy suggestions for children of all ages is their favorite pastime, and they’re committed to helping you find the perfect toy for every occasion. That means carefully evaluating the play value of every toy that ends up on shelves, and their product mix is chosen from toy manufacturers worldwide. They also offer gift wrapping, complimentary personalization, and a year-round Birthday Box gift registry program. When you visit the store, you’ll find both classic favorites and recently discovered treasures.
Not to be outdone, Neon Elephant is a children’s clothing boutique offering modern, high-quality fashion that appeals to today’s discerning parent and child. Their clothing for infants and tweens is both trendy and comfortable.
Jennifer said one of her favorite parts of the job is keeping up with the trends that make kids’ eyes light up. Right now, she said, Labubu surprise gift boxes are all the rage, as are Taba squishies, fidgets, t-shirts, plush accessories, bows, bathrobes, and anything fun that can be pinned to a cool new backpack for school. Whatever gift or toy you’re looking for, Jennifer’s team has you covered.
Both stores have experienced incredible growth in recent years, and if you think things are busy over there now, wait until November rolls around. Without fail, November and December are their busiest times, and Jennifer is always the constant.
“By December, I’m usually there seven days a week. It’s that busy, and I love it,” she said. “Admittedly, my regular schedule would be to go to Highland Village in the morning, be there for a few hours before going to Plano, then spend a few hours at the Plano location before heading back to Highland Village. That’s just not feasible right now.”
She added, “The thing I want everyone to know is that they are still in good hands. My staff is amazing, and they will always be there. I’ll be there, too, but I’ll have to work from home a little more than I’m used to. And when you do see me, I’ll be in a wheelchair.”
That said, her infectious smile and desire to bring joy to her community—one toy at a time—will always be on full display.
