Yard sale to benefit transplant candidate

Family and friends of a longtime north Spokane resident will conduct a giant yard sale this weekend to celebrate her birthday and help with cost of a double bone-marrow transplant.

Debbie Bridge, who turns 45 on Tuesday, is battling Burkitt’s — or non-Hodgkin’s — lymphoma, which recently recurred after seven years of remission.

“We’re trying to set this up as kind of her birthday weekend,” said her mother, Sandy Jacobs. “If nothing else, stop by and say hello.”

Bridge’s only hope for survival is stem cell replacement therapy, commonly known as a bone-marrow transplant, in which unhealthy blood cells are destroyed and replaced with healthy ones.

Because none of her relatives’ cells is suitably matched, Bridge’s cells must be replaced first with some of her own and then with cells from an unrelated donor. Doctors have said the two-step process at a Seattle cancer hospital could take three to eight months, including a prolonged recovery in which Bridge must live near the hospital while her mother cares for her.

Medicare and insurance from Bridge’s job as a technical support representative for Pitney Bowes are expected to cover medical costs in excess of $500,000, but the family must pay lodging and other costs of the extended stay in Seattle. Bridge’s parents, Ray and Sandy Jacobs, hope to raise $20,000 to defray the expense.

The fund-raising yard sale will be at the family home at 6518 N. Washington St., where Bridge has lived much of her life since she was 9. Sandy Jacobs said the sale will offer a wide range of merchandise, from furniture to golf clubs, as well as Krispy Kreme doughnuts and soft drinks.

The sale hours are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday.