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Hernando Today

Breathing Easier

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By TONY MARRERO

Hernando Today

Published: January 6, 2009

SPRING HILL - At 14, Kyle Lane is going on nine years of defying the experts' prognosis.

Diagnosed with cystic fibrosis at four-and-a-half months old, doctors told Tracey and Jeffrey Lane when their son turned five that he'd likely live only another year or so.

"He beat those odds," Tracey said.

Kyle says he's feeling "pretty good" these days, too. The only signs of his life-threatening illness are the oxygen tube he wears in his nose 24 hours a day and the regular cough that causes him to turn his head and cover his mouth every few minutes.

But Kyle's days of breathing with his own set of lungs are numbered. Cystic fibrosis is an inherited disease that causes the body to produce unusually thick, sticky mucus that clogs the lungs and leads to life-threatening lung infections.

The disease has taken its toll on Kyle's lungs and he is currently on an inactive waiting list for a lung transplant to be performed at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. The need hasn't become critical yet, but it likely will be within the next two years, doctors have told the family.

Now friends of the Lanes are putting on an event to raise money to help them prepare financially for the operation.

An "oldies dance" fundraiser will take place from 7 p.m. until 1 a.m Friday, Jan. 9 at the SNPJ Hall, 1338 County Line Road, Spring Hill. A donation of $10 is requested for admission.

A spaghetti dinner will be available for $5, and mixers will be available for those who bring their own spirits. Disc jockey Mr. T will play music from the 1950s, 60s and 70s.

Local businesses have donated a host of items for drawings. Table reservations are welcome.

Tracey Lane is a substitute teacher at Springstead High School. Co-workers formed a committee to organize the fundraiser, said Nilsa Colon Toro, the group's chairwoman.

Jeffrey Lane, who works for Verizon, has a good insurance plan that will cover most of the cost of the roughly $300,000 procedure, Tracey Lane said.

But co-payments for Kyle's numerous medications add up quickly, and Tracey and Kyle will have to move to North Carolina to be close to the surgery center, leaving Jeffrey and the couple's other two children, 16-year-old Tyler and Chelsie, 13.

"We just want them to be able to have some kind of nest egg for when the time comes," Colon Toro said.

The Lanes were touched by the support, Tracey said.

"Springstead is like a big family," she said. "There's nothing like the camaraderie."

"It's nice of them," Kyle said.

The Lanes were shocked when doctors diagnosed Kyle as an infant. No one in the family had ever been diagnosed with the disease before, and both parents have to carry the gene.

The family moved from Spring Hill to New Jersey three and a half years ago. During a visit, Kyle had said his lungs felt better in the warm air.

Kyle hit a low of 68 pounds last summer. Now he's up to about 97 pounds.

"We have to make him strong enough for the surgery," Tracey said.

Three times a day, Kyle straps on a special vibrating vest that shakes up the mucous in his lungs. He walks on a treadmill to get some exercise, but still doesn't have quite enough energy to ride a bike or skateboard.

He takes several daily medications through a nebulizer, a device that sprays a mist into the lungs. He wears a smaller oxygen tank in a backpack during outings.

Kyle used to attend Powell Middle School until doctors said the germs that linger in schools posed too big a threat to his fragile immune system. Now teachers come to him.

"I was kind of happy but now I want to go back," he said. He's hoping to get permission to attend for at least a half-day when he gets a little stronger.

When he was told he'd have to undergo a transplant, "I was kind of taken aback," he admitted.

There is a less obvious effect of the disease than the coughing, the weakness, the tube in his nose or the vibrating vest - but it can be just as burdensome as the teenager's sense of his own mortality.

When asked if he was scared of death, Kyle shrugged.

"To a point," he admits.

But he said he believes in heaven and all the family members waiting there.

His parents do, too, but they say they do a good job of not dwelling on what could happen tomorrow. Kyle says he wants to attend Nature Coast Technical High School, and maybe study law after that.

"Kyle's a fighter," Tracey said. "He's not going to give up."

And when God calls, she said, "He has a lot of people waiting to take care of him."

For more information about the fundraiser or to reserve tickets, call Nilsa at 352-686-0225 or 352-279-4450.

If you go

WHAT: Oldies dance fundraiser for the Lane family of Spring Hill to defray costs for 14-year-old Kyle Lane's lung transplant and other medical bills.

WHEN: 7 p.m. until 1 a.m. Friday, Jan. 9

WHERE: SNPJ Hall, 1338 County Line Road, Spring Hill.

ADMISSION: A donation of $10 is requested. A spaghetti dinner will be available for $5, and mixers will be available for those who bring their own spirits.

CONTACT: For more information about the fundraiser or to reserve tickets, call Nilsa at 352- 686-0225 or 352-279-4450.

Reporter Tony Marrero can be reached at 352-544-5286 or lmarrero@hernandotoday.com.

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