Fourteen-year-old Daryn Harkey was to be number 232 on the list of medical elite. But no one knew that. As a child, Daryn simply shared the dreams of all young boys: he loved playing baseball and football and enjoyed spending time with cousins and friends. His only limits were the bounds of his gifted imagination.
On a typical summer outing to an amusement park, Daryn, who had always been very active, had difficulty keeping up and had to rest often. Daryn’s fatigue persisted and was accompanied by an unusually debilitating cough. Perplexed by their child’s worsening condition, his parents took him to the hospital where doctors discovered from chest x-rays that his heart was alarmingly enlarged. Daryn was diagnosed with cardiomyopathy, a disease that permanently weakens the heart muscle.
The Harkeys were informed that their son’s only chance of survival was a heart transplant. After weeks of waiting for the arrival of a donor heart, the family relocated to Palo Alto, California so that Daryn could receive expert attention from the staff at Stanford University Hospital, a move that would not have been possible had it not been for tremendous community support and tireless fund-raising efforts.
Knowing Daryn’s recovery would ultimately be his battle alone, Daryn was given complete control over decisions concerning his care. Daryn faced the burden of his illness and accepted the challenge. At that time, in the spring of 1982, Daryn Harkey made history, becoming one of the youngest, and the first African American child, to receive a heart transplant. His name being added that day to the growing list of divinely grateful transplant recipients at Stanford.
Daryn’s recovery proved to be difficult. Within the first week, he developed a massive infection and had to undergo a second operation. After a slow recovery, the family returned to Los Angeles and prepared for Daryn’s return to school in the fall. Trying to fight frequent rejections, his kidneys failed and the rigors of high school academics were frequently interrupted by trips back to Stanford for checkups and procedures.
On one such visit, the Harkeys were given the grim news that Daryn would need another transplant. While at home waiting for a new heart, Daryn made a miraculous recovery. It was at that time that Daryn came to believe what his grandfather had always said, “Never discount the power of prayer”.
Knowing the value of the gift he was given and understanding how precious life was, Daryn shared his beautiful nature and loving heart, making lasting impressions on all who had the pleasure of knowing him. It is in this spirit that the Daryn Harkey Wellness Foundation began.
In honoring Daryn’s brief, but courageous life, we seek its greater purpose. The Foundation was established to aid and support children 18 years and younger who are challenged with a life threatening illness involving organ transplantation. Our goal is to better educate and inform the African American community about the need for greater awareness and participation in tissue and organ donation. The Daryn Harkey Wellness Foundation takes the position that where there is knowledge, there is direction for positive change.
The Daryn Harkey Wellness Foundation is a charitable 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and is listed as Local Independent Charity #48044 for the Fall 2007 Greater Los Angeles Combined Federal Campaign. To find out more, please visit our website www.harkeywellness.org
