A story about broken things

This site is part documentary, part love letter, and part middle finger to the idea that broken things should be thrown away.

Mike DeCamp smiling

Mike Decamp is a pirate. He has Ankylosing Spondylitis and couldn't walk for 10 years. His community raised money to help get his hips replaced. He was rebuilding a wrecked boat to sail around the world until a perforated bowel sent him into septic shock. He was airlifted off the island for life-saving surgery. Now, once again, his community is rallying.

Dilly at the helm of the boat

Dilly was abandoned at the vet with cancer. They were going to put her down until they could find someone to care for her. Today, Dilly is cancer-free, living with a captain who understands what it means to fight.

Pirate Boat in the shipyard

A million-dollar catamaran tossed by a hurricane, abandoned in the shipyard. Everyone said it would never sail again. Mike bought it for $7,000 and promised her the ocean. Four months later, they were on the water.

Join the crew.
We're raising hell — and awareness for Ankylosing Spondylitis

You'll get real updates from the captain. No fluff, no spam.

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WHAT IS ANKYLOSING SPONDYLITIS?

Mike with his cane and dog

Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS) is a rare, progressive autoimmune disease that causes inflammation in the spine and joints. Over time, it can fuse the vertebrae together, making movement excruciating — and eventually, impossible.

Mike's hips first popped at age 15. By 29, he could barely walk. He spent nearly a decade on a cane, his femurs grinding into his pelvis.

TIMELINE

15 YEARS OLD
Woke up with a collapsed hip
AGES 16-20
Living in chronic pain, heavily medicated
AGES 29-39
Lost the ability to walk without cane. Couldn't work. Friends raised money for life-saving hip surgery
AGES 39
Regained the ability to walk — after a decade without it.
AGES 39-42
Found a hurricane-wrecked catamaran everyone said was unsalvageable. Bought it for $7,000. Rebuilt it by hand.
AGE 44
Mike is in critical condition after developing sepsis from a perforated bowel. He was emergency airlifted from the island to Miami for life-saving surgery. His community is rallying again — just like they always do.
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"IT'S LIKE BEING IN A CAR ACCIDENT EVERY DAY.

YOU WAKE UP AND HAVE 90% OF YOUR ENERGY JUST TO EAT AND BREATHE AND YOU'VE GOT 10% LEFT TO LIVE YOUR LIFE WITH."

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FOR OTHERS WITH AS, OR ANY CHRONIC ILLNESS - A NOTE FROM MIKE

Mike's painting of a blue and yellow fish

I spent almost ten years not walking. I was 102 pounds, on a cane, out of options. I was prescribed a cocktail of painkillers. I've been so depressed I didn't want to be alive.

What got me through wasn't hope — it was work. Distraction. Projects. Boats. Building things I could control when everything else felt like hell.

If you're going through it — with AS or anything chronic — just know: don't stop. Fix something. Paint something. Make a thing.

Just because something is broken, doesn't mean its not good.