Mother keeping son's legacy alive after his death at Merced trampoline park

MERCED, Calif. (KFSN) -- A Merced mother is making it her mission to ensure her son's spirit lives on three months after his tragic death at a trampoline park.

It's been nearly three months since 10-year-old Anthony Duran collapsed after an incident at a Merced trampoline park.

That day, Maribel Garcia, Anthony's mother, received a phone call that changed her life.

"They said you need to get here ASAP," recalled Garcia.

Duran was rushed to the hospital but he later died of his injuries.

His mom found a way for part of him to live on after his death.

"That's why I did the organ donation, I like to say 'Forever Alive,' said Garcia.

Loved ones and hospital staff lined the hallway as Anthony's body, draped with his basketball and football jerseys, was taken for organ donation.

"That's when I told him it was okay. It was just hard because it was the last day that I was going to be with his body," Garcia explained.

His kidneys, pancreas, and heart went to people in the Bay Area.

His Liver went to someone in Southern California and his lungs made a cross-country trip to save a life in Missouri.

"I couldn't save him, nobody could, but I could save that. It's not my kid but I saved parts of my kid and they're still alive and he's still alive somewhere," Garcia said.

Now, mementos and photos of Anthony fill her house, from an altar on the front porch to the fireplace.

His bedroom remains the way he left it that day in April.

"I go and straighten up his bed every morning. Every morning, I open up the curtains just like I used to but this time I don't say wake up, you know?" said Garcia.

All signs of a mother in mourning.

Garcia says the pain she carries is unlike anything she's felt before.

"It hurts every day. It's like, I'm awake and then I start remembering 'Oh my God, my son's dead.' Every time I wake up, it's the hardest part," explained Garcia.

A photo of Anthony is etched on Maribel's arm and a picture of him hangs around her neck.

The memories are forever imprinted on her heart or as she says, what's left of her heart.

"They took a part of my heart. It's not just one piece. They took it all," Garcia said.

Anthony's 11th birthday would have been next Wednesday.

Garcia says she's planning a special family visit to the cemetery for him.

The Merced Police Department says the investigation into Anthony's death is ongoing as detectives await autopsy reports.

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