GREEN TOWNSHIP — Her legacy transcends the photographs that capture those hard moments as she lay waiting for the heart and double lung transplant, images filled with a canyon of medical equipment. Her memory is alive.

        Aubrey Hollenkamp died in November after just three years of life, but on May 25, more than 200 runners and walkers will participate in her name in this year's Humana ChoiceCare Heart Mini-Marathon.

        They will wear T-shirts that read “Aubrey's Angels” on the back, and the money they raise in pledges will be given to the American Heart Association.

        “She loved life and lived it to the fullest in only three years,” said Aubrey's mother, Nancy Hollenkamp, who organized the team of participants. “The way she smiled, she was always smiling.”

        The legacy lives further in the Ronald McDonald House under construction on Burnet Avenue in Avondale, where more than $6,000 in donations have been given in Aubrey's name.

        Jennifer Goodin, executive director of the Ronald McDonald House, said a room at the new house will be named in Aubrey's honor.

        “There was a huge outpouring of support,” Ms. Goodin said. “With Aubrey, it was one of the largest responses for memorial donations.”

        Lori Fovel, a spokeswoman for the American Heart Association, said they are taken with Mrs. Hollenkamp's determination to preserve Aubrey's memory.

        “She has been very zealous about getting people to participate,” Ms. Fovel said. “She's a very special person.”

        Aubrey was just 10 weeks old when surgery repaired two holes discovered in her heart. At 9 months she was diagnosed with Scimitar Syndrome, a rare condition in which two pulmonary veins went to her liver instead of her lungs. Two more open heart surgeries followed in 1998. In May 1999 the family went to Philadelphia for a heart and double lung transplant for Aubrey. She was in the hospital for four months. The Ronald McDonald House there became a second home to the family.

        On the night of Nov. 9, 2000, while at home, Mrs. Hollenkamp heard her daughter cough. When Mrs. Hollenkamp picked up Aubrey her daughter was blue. She was rushed to the hospital. She died at 12:20 a.m. Nov. 10.

        “God took her painlessly and fast,” Mrs. Hollenkamp said.

        Everything was an accomplishment. Learning to breathe, walking, then running. Beginning to learn sign language. Picking up a block in her tiny fist.

        The family — husband Jerry, daughter Carly, 13, son Spencer, 12 — learned from Aubrey about the strength of family, about patience and selflessness.

        “I'm so proud of our two children,” Mrs. Hollenkamp said. “Not only did we have a sick child, but we had two well children as well. Aubrey got a lot of attention, but they were never angry at Aubrey.”

        A pair of Aubrey's white shoes sits on the hearth of the living room's fireplace. Three collages of photos document her life. Recent photos show a feeding tube trailing from Aubrey's nose.

        “She taught us a lot,” Mrs. Hollenkamp said. “Don't sweat the small stuff, cherish every day, learn to look on the bright side. We don't want Aubrey's memory to be forgotten.”

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