Hi,
My name is Jarda Versloot-West, I have been in the expedition industry since 2003 and currently work for Seabourn. Throughout the years I have met many fantastic field staff and like many of you, know how special and important our ship family is. I wanted to share and bring to your attention that one of our members of this community could really use our help.
Shaylyn Potter has worked in the expedition industry for many years and we are very fortunate at Seabourn to have her join the team as a super skilled and enthusiastic submersible pilot.
Shaylyn has recently been diagnosed with breast cancer — a reality she’s long feared, given her strong family history. Her mother and grandmother both faced the disease, and Shaylyn lost her mom to it at just 12 years old. Despite doing everything she could to stay ahead of it through regular screenings and self-advocacy, a mass was found at her most recent check-up. She was diagnosed with hormone-positive, HER2-negative invasive ductal carcinoma.
Shaylyn works at sea — a career she deeply loves — but it’s physically demanding, and she can only do it when she’s fully able-bodied. Now, she’s navigating surgery, treatment, and recovery while also relocating for care and preparing to be out of work for the next six months or more. She’s working with her oncology team and recently underwent a bilateral mastectomy (surgery 2 of 3 now complete). Further treatment decisions are still unfolding as pathology and scan results come in.
With all of this has come a growing pile of medical expenses. Though Shaylyn has health insurance, there are still thousands of dollars in out-of-pocket costs that aren’t covered by her plan. This fundraiser was created to help ease the financial pressure so Shaylyn can focus fully on healing from this awful disease. She hopes to make her way back to sea and the work she loves on the other side of this.
Any support, whether through a donation or a share, is greatly appreciated.
Thank you for being part of Shaylyn’s community during this difficult chapter. ”
