A Louisiana mother is gunning for legislative change after her late toddler was buried without her heart.
Krystal Romero's two-year-old daughter, Gracey Claire Rushing, died unexpectedly in 2009.
An autopsy was performed after Gracey's death, and she was later buried. Romero said no cause of death was ever confirmed, according to KLFY10.
Nearly two months later, a second autopsy was ordered for the two-year-old and took about 10 months to complete.
The harrowing results revealed Gracey was buried without all of her internal organs, specifically her heart.
'I had went back to the coroner's office and repeated what the funeral home had told me, and it was basically like "I don't know what to tell you." And it was dismissed,' Romero told the outlet. She was just 23-years-old when this unfolded.
What followed was what Romero calls 'eight years of unanswered questions.'
The distressed mother said she contacted coroner offices, funeral homes, and pathologists, but each pointed fingers at the others.
In the summer of 2017, Gracey's heart was discovered at a nearby coroner's office -the same office Romero had be contacting for years.
'Three burials. One daughter,' Romero wrote on Facebook. Gracey was buried on three separate occasions: September 2009, May 2010, and August 2017.
Unlike other parents preparing for their children's milestones, Romero says she doesn't have that. But she hopes to 'turn her pain into purpose.'
'Putting a bill in place [will] hopefully prevent any other parents or any family from having to go through what I did,' she told the outlet.
Romero is the spearhead behind House Bill 454, the Gracey Claire Rushing Act, authored by Representative Rhonda Butler.
The bill proposes 'a mandatory chain of custody protocol for the handling, examination, and return of human remains and internal organs during autopsies and forensic investigations in this state.'
It seeks to ensure transparency and accountability in autopsy procedures, mandating that coroners, pathologists, and funeral homes sign a chain-of-custody document verifying that a body is received with all major organs intact.
Funeral homes would be obligated to inform all parties if the document is not properly completed.
Some medical professionals oppose her bill, but Romero says she will continue to fight for Gracey.
'It should be documented, and if it's not, the funeral home would notify the coroner and the pathologist and keep a record of what happened,' she told the outlet.
Some opponents argued that the bill is unnecessary and would create extra burdens for medical professionals who already follow established procedures.
State coroners and pathologists warn the new rules could bog them down with paperwork and cause more trouble than help, insisting their existing standards protect families well enough, the outlet reported.
In Louisiana, coroners, pathologists, and funeral homes aren't required to track organ transfers. Each has its own rules leaving families without a reliable way to confirm their loved one was buried whole.
Romero's bill is headed for committee review, and if approved, it will advance to a House vote before moving on to the Senate.
'I am no longer that 23-year-old girl they could dismiss. I will keep fighting for Gracey Claire and for every family that comes after her,' she told the outlet.