Firefighters Aid 2 Children With Disorder

When William Rolland heard about the illness stalking two of Scott and Theresa LaRue’s children, the retired Los Angeles firefighter living in Westlake Village knew he had to help.

Rolland runs a charitable organization that helps firefighters and their families in times of need. Scott LaRue, a Silver Strand resident and paramedic with the Alhambra Fire Department, recently lost a son to a rare immune system disorder that two of his other sons share.

So at a small ceremony Wednesday at the Thousand Oaks office of the William Rolland Firefighters Foundation, Rolland presented the couple with two checks for $5,000 each. The money will help pay medical expenses for 3-year-old Garrett and 6-month-old Blayke.

“As you know, the fire community, like law enforcement, is a close-knit family,” Rolland told a crowd of firefighters from Los Angeles and Ventura counties. “When one of us hurts, all of us hurt. . . . We’re also selfish. We want to see these two young men grow up to become firefighters down the line.”

Theresa LaRue said she has been overwhelmed by the support the family has received since the death of their year-old son Layne this summer.

“How do you say thank you to all of this?” she said. “It was devastating when we found out about the disorder, but we’re just grateful for the support.”

In June, Layne fell ill with a fever and died. After his death, doctors discovered that he and two of his brothers suffered from X-linked lymphoproliferative disease, a disorder that lowers the body’s defenses against illnesses.

The surviving children need a bone marrow transplant, but the chance of finding someone whose marrow matches theirs is about one in 20,000, Theresa LaRue said.

With such daunting odds, the boys’ hope for survival lies in testing as many potential donors as possible.

About 900 people attended a marrow testing drive in Ventura on Dec. 3, Theresa LaRue said. The Alhambra Fire Department has scheduled a drive Jan. 20 at 1000 S. Fremont Ave. in Alhambra.

“It takes more blood drives and more money for the drives to bring down those odds,” said Michele Dougherty, a Silver Strand real estate agent who put Rolland in touch with the LaRues.

So far, a nationwide search of donor records has found about 90 possible matches, the LaRues said. Each of those 90 people, however, must be tested again to see if the match is exact.

For now, the boys are healthy and a bit puzzled by the attention they have received, Theresa LaRue said.

Those who wish to help the LaRues can bring checks, made out to the family, to the firefighters foundation office at 50 W. Hillcrest Drive in Thousand Oaks.