Meet Lane Dodson

“On August 29th, 2018, our son Lane Dodson, who was 6 at the time, was diagnosed with Leukemia. We were only in the PRMC ER for about an hour before we were told he had cancer. He was then transferred by ambulance to Children’s National Hospital in DC where they conducted further testing, biopsies, port placement and then began chemo on August 31st. During this time the doctors noticed he was also suffering from high blood sugar levels. Additional testing was performed and he was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. Not only was he enduring chemo, but now multiple finger pokes & insulin injections every day. Unfortunately, Lane will have type 1 diabetes for the rest of his life. This was hard on Lane, both physically & emotionally. He spent about 3 weeks in DC before finally being discharged to come home. Since then, we have been traveling to DC multiple times each month for chemo, doctor appointments and admissions. His chemo treatments will continue until November 6, 2021, after which he will continue to have follow up appointments in DC.  

During a family night for diabetic children, one of the staff members approached us and stated they thought a diabetic alert dog might be a good option for Lane. As of now, Lane cannot tell when his blood sugars are getting low. They explained how a service dog would help us recognize when this is happening, as well as help calm Lane’s fear and anxiety. We discussed it as a family and decided that if Lanes oncologist & psychologist agreed it would help him, we would do whatever was necessary to get Lane the Diabetic Alert service dog. Everyone was in agreement that a service dog could make Lane's life better. We made a deposit on the service dog in December 2018, and Lane was matched with his dog in April.  Her name is Thunder and we hope to have her home by December 2019!

While a service dog will greatly improve Lane's life, it comes with a steep cost of about $15,000.00. When we were asked if we would be interested in Lane being a part of the Tangier Classic Fishing Tournament, we knew immediately that the donation funds would go to help cover Lanes dog. We are so grateful that the organizers of this event and the eastern shore community want to support Lane. I don’t know how we would have made it through this without the love and support he has received.

While lane is very limited in what he’s allowed to do right now, he’s still your typical 7-year-old boy. He loves being outside and helping with the garden, taking care of his chickens, riding horses, and playing with all kinds of animals. He also likes to play soccer, ride dirt bikes, camping, boating, and fishing. He’s very excited to fish the tournament with his dad and uncle, and we’re all excited to spend a fun weekend with people who support our boy!”