S.C. Called to Join Marrow Match Hunt for OCFA Retiree's Daughter

Doctors say Lyndsey Harhay's leukemia is in remission, but she still has a way to go to get healthy.

Harhay, 23, was diagnosed in January and has only recently been able to leave the hospital, said close family friend and Orange County firefighter Danny Espinoza.

Doctors told Harhay that the next step in her treatment was to find a bone marrow donor for a transplant, but her sister did not prove to be a match.

That's why Espinoza has led the organization of a bone marrow drive this Saturday to help find a match for Harhay.

Espinoza said that Lyndsey Harahay's father, Tom, who is retired, worked for the Orange County Fire Authority in San Clemente for half his nearly three-decade career and that the OCFA has tirelessly given back to help Lyndsey to beat her illness.

"Tom is such a great guy. He was so involved in the community when he was working down here. I think the community, as well as the department,  has decided it's time to pay him back," Espinoza said.

Firefighters throughout the organization and Lyndsey Harhay's friends and family organized a trip to UCLA Medical Center to donate platelets vital to her treatment.

Espinoza said platelets go bad after five days, so oncology centers are often desperate for a supply. But with all her support, Lyndsey Harhay's doctors never ran short.

Officials at UCLA told them, "You know, I've never seen this much support for one patient," Espinoza said.

He also said that the Harhays, who now live in Laguna Niguel, have been chronicling their daughter's treatment, successes and setbacks on a site called Caringbridge.org, set up for patients to share information and garner support in their fight against disease.

Friends, family and well-wishers have loaded the Carebridge servers with nearly 50,000 visits since January.

"The people at Carebridge said, 'We've never seen anything like this,' " Espinoza said.

The festival is 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday outside the on Camino Real, and health professionals will be on hand to collect cheek swabs, adding volunteers' tissue types to the bone marrow donor registry.

There will be live music, face painting, food and drinks, a dunk tank and a motorcycle/classic car show.

If you can't make it to the festival Saturday, you can still find out if you're a match for Lyndsey Harhay. Visit bethematch.com. When you join the registry, use the code "Lyndsey2011." You'll get a kit in the mail to swab your mouth so your marrow type can be tested.

Editor's Note: Because of a reporting error, the web site Caringbridge.org was misspelled in a previous version of this article. Patch regrets the error.