By: Phil Luciano

Sometimes forensic pathologists cry.

Jamie Harwood freely admits that he cries occasionally. But no recent case has hit the Peoria County coroner for eight years as hard as Sydney Weston’s. He says it is particularly challenging to communicate information about the deaths of children to their parents.

“I often cry with them,” says Harwood. “I can only imagine what it’s like to lose a child.”

On holiday June 13, the girl and Her family was on a flight from Joplin, Missouri to Chicago when she became seriously ill. The plane was diverted to Peoria International Airport to treat her medical emergency, but she died shortly after landing.

Despite all her grief, Harwood later realized that her death might have saved her brother’s life.

“A small advantage,” says Harwood.

Harwood attributed her death to several illnesses unknown to her parents, including Addison’s disease. The disease can be fatal in the presence of infection, and the girl had several of them, Harwood said.

After Sydney Weston’s death, her eleven-year-old brother became ill. When doctors learned the cause of his sister’s death, they quickly diagnosed him with Addison’s disease.

“That’s the silver lining,” Harwood told WMBD radio. “Sydney didn’t die in vain. She died saving her brother’s life. I know that in my heart.”

Remarkably, her death prevented a second life.

Although her brother’s story has not been widely reported in central Illinois, it has made headlines in some national media outlets, including People. The article was discovered by an out-of-state grandmother who used to live in Peoria. When she read Sydney’s story and Harwood’s comments, she was stunned.

Her ten-year-old grandson, who lives in St. Louis, was suffering from infections and other illnesses that doctors had trouble diagnosing. The grandmother called the boy’s mother about Sydney’s case, and the grandson was soon diagnosed with Addison’s disease – and successfully treated.

“We are forever in your debt,” she wrote to Harwood in an email. “…You helped save a life.”

The Weston family’s GoFundMe page can be found here.

Listen to the interview with Peoria County Coroner Jamie Harwood on the Phil Luciano Show here.