10/23/08

Arlington firefighters come to child's rescue with bake sale

Firefighters in Arlington spent the day on October 18 selling pies and cookies in support of a former volunteer firefighter and his family.

4-month-old Mason Garka, the son of Greg and Kelsey Garka, was born with a rare heart defect known as hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS). The couple, now living in Stanwood, has been struggling with staggering medical bills from Mason’s procedures, and more are still to come.

The local firefighters, led by Alex Carbajal, wanted to help the Garka family and decided to host a bake sale during Arlington’s October Hunt festivities.

Mason has been receiving care at Children’s Hospital in Seattle. He has already undergone open heart surgery to repair a defective valve and is facing additional operations.

Greg and Kelsey Garka are graduates of Arlington High School, and Greg volunteered as a firefighter for several years before the family moved.

In addition to the bake sale, which featured goods from local churches and services clubs, firefighters and school district employees, a ­silent auction of donated items was also planned.
A benevolence fund has also been established for the Garka family at WaMu.

HLHS is an underdevelopment of the left ventricle of the heart. Multiple surgeries are generally required to repair the defect.

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