When Maliki Cheyney was taken off life support last August, his heart helped save another child. And now his mom Dacia Cheyney is appealing to the public to help her find the organ recipient so that she can hear her son’s heartbeat one last time.
“I want nothing more than to hear his heart,” Dacia said in an interview with KHQ. “I’ll drop everything and do anything just to do it. Even if it’s just for 30 seconds.”
The 17-month-old from Idaho died of a severe skull fracture after his stepfather Joseph Davis allegedly beat him. Davis is facing homicide charges and is being held on a US$1-million bond under the custody of the police in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho.
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According to reports, Dacia left Maliki in Davis’ care for a few minutes on Aug. 26. When she came home, she said she saw Maliki lying on the floor with difficulty breathing and injuries to his head.
Davis told investigators that he believed Maliki fell from a table while Davis was in the bathroom, but investigators believe the toddler’s injuries are non-accidental.
Dacia said Maliki’s liver and kidneys were also donated, but all she knows about her late son’s heart is that it went to a little girl who lives on the west coast.
She created a Facebook page, hoping social media will help track down the family whose daughter now has Maliki’s heart.
“That’s my only child’s heart and it would bring me a little bit more comfort to know that a piece of him is living on and helped another family be able to take their baby home,” she said.
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