In her final acts of courage, 4-year-old Octavia Aquino saved the lives of two complete strangers: a New York dad plagued with liver failure, and a 2-year-old boy in Wisconsin dying from an enlarged heart.
Octavia's family made the decision to keep her alive just long enough for her to donate her organs after she was allegedly beaten to death at the hands of her mother's 16-year-old boyfriend, Christian Gonzalez the night of June 13.
Speaking with HNGN earlier this week, Octavia's grandmother, Linda Alvarez, said her granddaughter – who was once "so full of life" – died a hero.
"Even though my grandbaby is not here with me – I want more than anything in his world for her to be – she saved someone else," cried Alvarez, "and she's living on and through them."
As Alvarez struggles to accept the harsh reality of Octavia's brutal death, she finds comfort in knowing her precious little girl was able to give the gift of life to others. To her knowledge, Octavia was able to save the lives of at least two people she had never met.
The grandmother learned this after receiving several messages of gratitude on Facebook – first from a woman in New York.
"Her husband received a transplant for kidneys, and they were pediatric kidneys," explained Alvarez. "And the only thing that they were told about the donor is that it was a 4-year-old little girl in Indiana, and that she absolutely knows that it was from Octavia."
The woman's husband experienced renal failure for the past 13 months and "didn't know how much longer he was going to live," said Alvarez. "And they have an 8-year-old special needs child."
A day later, she received another message on Facebook – this time from a Wisconsin mother whose little boy was in heart failure.
"He was born with a heart that was too big. He has had so many complications since he was born," Alvarez wrote on social media Tuesday.
"Time was of the essence for this little boy and his life was in jeopardy. Well, he received Octavia's heart, and it saved his life. The mom is so grateful and kind. She offered to send me a recording of the heartbeat if I want it or when I'm ready. Such a whirlwind of emotions right now."
She added, "One thing is for certain though: I'm so grateful to hear from these people and know my grandbaby is living on in them."
Octavia was laid to rest Friday in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
