Two families, one heart: How the tragic death of a baby in Racine saved the life of another in Kansas
LAUREN HENNING
Updated
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Upper left: Arkaydin Howard. Upper right: Peter Hernandez as a baby. Lower left: Arkaydin Howard's mother, Brittney Struebing, often visits where her son is buried, leaving behind toys in a sandbox that he should be playing with. Lower right: The Hernandez family, from left to right: Peter, Christopher, Erin, Aurora and Michael.
Photos submitted and by Lauren Henning
Brittney Struebing leaves toys, including trucks and a stuffed duck, that her son Arkaydin Howard should be playing with. If he were alive, Arkaydin would be 3 now. But he died Feb. 22, 2019, while in the care of his father, Jeremy Marquez, who is facing up to 25 years in prison. Struebing is trying to raise money to buy Arkaydin a proper headstone. She said she visits his burial plot often.
A grieving mum recognised a stranger on TV as the man who received her son's heart and rushed to him to feel his heartbeat — now they consider each other as family and speak every day. Valerie Stebel, 45, lost her son, Cody, 20, from severe injuries he suffered in a car accident just months after he had passed his driving test in May 2017.
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Upper left: Arkaydin Howard. Upper right: Peter Hernandez as a baby. Lower left: Arkaydin Howard's mother, Brittney Struebing, often visits where her son is buried, leaving behind toys in a sandbox that he should be playing with. Lower right: The Hernandez family, from left to right: Peter, Christopher, Erin, Aurora and Michael.
Brittney Struebing leaves toys, including trucks and a stuffed duck, that her son Arkaydin Howard should be playing with. If he were alive, Arkaydin would be 3 now. But he died Feb. 22, 2019, while in the care of his father, Jeremy Marquez, who is facing up to 25 years in prison. Struebing is trying to raise money to buy Arkaydin a proper headstone. She said she visits his burial plot often.
