"They say that Lobsters mate for life. Lane is my
Lobster. Please, please, please help me save my lobster."
One of the more likeable figures in the loosely strung
together world called the surf community is the Australian
photographer Sean Davey.
I met Sean when I was a junior editor at Surfing Life magazine
many orbits ago.
And, then, long before the eyes became jaundiced, the limbs
weary, the marrow cold, I would thrill to his submissions, which
were noted for their vivid colour and a fanatical attention to
detail in his exposure of transparency film that made technicians
weep for their beauty.
Later, when I got the reins to the magazine, I made a point of
throwing every bone I could at Sean Davey, enjoying his company on
myriad trips. This included a wild sortie to the Philippines as we
hunted the ghost of Mike Boyum.
During this time, Sean met and fell head-over-heels in love with
an American gal who was one of the few women who would ride
Pipeline. Pretty soon they married and carved out a life on the
North Shore together.
Fast forward twenty seven years and Sean and his wife Lane are
dealing with the two-pronged horrors of cancer and America’s cruel
healthcare system.
As Sean explains in a message to his friends, fans and surf
family,
Friends and family all over this beautiful world of ours, I
have some crushing news to share with you all. My wife of 27 years
; Lane has been recently diagnosed with stage 4 metastatic cancer.
She is in the fight of her life right now.
Lane had her first infusion of chemotherapy yesterday. The
procedure went better than expected but she was awake all night
with nausea, which I guess is to be expected.
Though we both have had decent health insurance, Lane’s is
about to finish due to the fact that as a professor, she is only
employed on a semester by semester basis, and so Lane’s insurance
might run out any time now. On top of that is the very likely
scenario that Lane will need to go to the American mainland to get
specialized care. She would have left on New Year’s day, but her
condition has been deemed too serious to fly right now. So
hopefully the chemo can shrink the cancer to a point where we can
reach the next step in this process. Meanwhile, we are looking at
some pretty major expenses coming up.
Some of the specialized care that Lane requires is not
covered by the insurance and so it’s looking to be very expensive.
Given the need for the specialized care, flights and upcoming
operations, we are looking at an initial figure of $90,000. We
really need all of your help to make this happen. Those of you who
can contribute, please go to Lane’s GoFundMe page to donate, if you
are able to. Any amount helps. For those of you who can’t afford
to, PLEASE do what you can to spread the word to others. We really,
really need ALL of your help right now to help Laneski beat this
insidious disease. From the bottom of my heart, please know that we
appreciate each and every one of you. Please help save my
Laneski!
In the subsequent GoFundMe, Sean goes into a little more
detail.
My wife, Lane “LaneSki” Davey is in the fight for her life
against a Stage 4 colo-ovarian cancer associated with a 6cm mass
that is blocking her intestine, causing a lot of pain and making it
hard for her to eat. In the 6 months it took us to get a diagnosis,
the cancer spread to her liver and lungs so at this point the only
option for treatment is chemotherapy which she will start on Dec.
26, but since it is unlikely to cure her cancer, Lane is
researching cutting edge facilities such as City of Hope (Az), the
Burzynski clinic (TX), and the Turtle Band Clinic (NV) who
specialize in advanced cancers. Costs of treatments at some of
these centers run up to as much as 140,000 plus travel costs. We
are also looking for a reasonably priced rental close by in Kahuku
so Lane’s Mom can come and help out which will free up more time
for me to work especially since Lane isn’t able to work at this
time.
Lane and I met back in 1995 and were inseparable from the
get-go. We married in late 1996 and I moved to Hawaii in 1997,
where we’ve remained ever since. We were a great match with Lane
being a pro surfer/ clothing designer at the time, while I was
photographing for surf magazines all over the world.
The news has been so devastating to Lane who has spent the
last 12 years serving as a full-time college lecturer and also
acting as a part-time caretaker for her father with dementia while
earning her Ph.D. that she finally completed last May. Lane is so
dedicated to her students that she will stay up into the wee hours
of the night grading resubmissions from students to make sure
everyone has a chance to succeed in her class. This past semester,
she spent a lot of time curled up in a ball on the floor before she
would transition back to her computer to grade papers, answer
emails, and prepare her lectures which often proceeded each
worsening scan and diagnosis. You may have seen her out surfing
with a smile on her face but that was after being up crying all
night in pain. I know if anyone can beat this, my wife
can.
Lane is a courageous and devout woman of faith who has
always followed God’s call despite enduring a lot of opposition and
difficult circumstances. I remember her paddling out to second and
third reef Pipe when no one had ever seen women go anywhere near
that. We would all sit on the beach and gasp as her 115-pound frame
feathered on top of 12-foot sets and sometimes we watched her get
annihilated by them but somehow she always found her way back to
the beach. I remember Lane traveling the pro circuit with a
surfboard under one arm and a sample bag under the other which
contained her one-of-a-kind women’s surf line that she sold to 50
stores across the U.S. and Japan. Of course, everyone told Lane
that women’s surfwear was a ridiculous idea and then they all
eventually followed suit anyway, laying the groundwork for the
amazing opportunities that women surfers enjoy today. In the 90s,
Lane also began writing about the female surfing experience for a
range of international magazines that I was shooting for and this
eventually led her back to school because she wanted to document
local legends in a lasting way. Her doctoral dissertation is one of
the most extensive works on he‘enalu (surfing), detailing epic
swells at Pipe and Bowls that Lane surfed daily for over thirty
years and documented rigorously for about 20 in a blog she wrote
for the Honolulu Advertiser and Oceanic Cable. She hopes to
continue her research and publish them as books.
The cancer diagnosis has been a shock, to say the least
since Lane, just 53, has no family history of cancer, eats healthy,
exercises daily, and doesn’t drink, smoke, or do drugs to the point
where she will rarely even accept an Advil. According to
statistics, Lane is currently looking at a 2-9 month life
expectancy if she doesn’t get help quickly. I can’t conceive of
losing my soulmate and the mother of our three beloved dog babies
Paumalu, Tazzy, and Kai Boy.
We just celebrated our 27th wedding anniversary just last
week. I remember telling Lane way back in the mid 90’s that we
would grow old together as a couple and I intend to stand by that
pledge.
To be honest, I know Lane feels let down because she gave up
a life of material gain to serve as a teacher and community
activist for over 20 years, and in her time of need, neither the
education system nor the health system has been there for her.
Similarly, the surf industry largely refuses to recognize her
contributions. So we sincerely ask for your prayers and your
support. Any amount, big or small, not only funds Lane’s chances at
life but fuels her fight to live because it shows her that people
care and appreciate her service.
They say that Lobsters mate for life. Lane is my Lobster.
Please, please, please help me save my lobster.
Jump here if you want to kick the
Daveys a shekel or two.
