SAN DIEGO — Dara Kerr clutches a white teddy bear as a tiny media player inside the stuffed animal emits the sounds of her 4-year-old son, Ronan's heartbeat.

The beats were among the final pumps Ronan's heart would take at Rady Children's Hospital after a massive branch from an Eucalyptus tree fell at Villa La Jolla park, striking Ronan in the head in June 2025.

"He just felt like he was my best friend, and whatever love I gave him, he gave back, and we were just this perfect little pair, my boy," said Ms. Kerr as she squirmed slightly in her seat to hold back her tears. “There is not a second that goes by that he doesn’t cross my mind, and I’m constantly having conversations with him. I talk to him all the time, and that’s what gets me through."

Sitting next to his wife, Cathal Kerr, R

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