About the Huffman Family

Brad and I were married on 8/8/08 and found out we were expecting our first child in March of 2009.  We were so excited to expand our family and to be parents. Our beautiful son Gavin Lucas Huffman was born on November 16, 2009.  He was 7 lbs 9 oz and healthy as can be.  Everything was going great with our family until Gavin's two month check up.  We noticed that his arms were rotating in so we brought that to our pediatrician's attention.  She then started examining him and realized that he did not have any reflexes.  On that day, January 15th, we went to a neurologist to get her opinion.  She told us a few things that could cause this to happen but was most concerned with SMA.  Of course, Brad and I were in denial.  Our perfect baby did not have this terminal disease!  Monday, January 18th, Gavin was admitted into the hospital for aspiration pneumonia.  Once we told the hospital that he might have SMA they started treating him like he did.  They did a swallow study and found that he was silently aspirating and refluxing so they told me that I could not feed him by mouth anymore and put a NJ tube down his nose.  Our perfect life was falling to pieces in minutes.  The hospital drew blood for the SMA testing to confirm and said that we would receive the results in 2-4 weeks.  February 2, 2010 was one of the worst days of our lives.  Gavin was diagnosed with SMA type 1 and had a life expecting of less than a year.  Brad and I were determined to beat SMA and not have our son taken from us.  We took him to see several specialists and then we finally realized that there is nothing we could do for our son to beat this disease so we just spent every second we could with him. On June 22, 2010, Gavin passed away peacefully at home with his mommy, daddy and two dogs (Calvin and Maggie).  Our foundation has been a way for us to help raise awareness about SMA and help other families going through this tragic disease in Gavin's memory.  Together we can find a cure for SMA!

Give4Gav 2010 Events

Garage Sale and Bake Sale

The sale will be on Friday, May 21st from 7am to 10pm at 1663 Bluegrass Parkway, Greenwood, IN, 46143 (view map). There will be plenty of items for sale and many baked goods. If you have items you would like to donate, please contact Kylei Poff at kypoff@att.net. All proceeds will go to Gavin’s medical expenses, to an SMA specialist, to help raise awareness and find a cure for SMA.

Benefit Concert and Fundraiser

There will be a Benefit Concert and Fundraiser for Give4Gav at the Greenwood Amphitheater on Saturday, May 22nd from 12 noon to 5pm (click here for directions). There will be bands playing, including Common Ground, Crash 21, and more. Lots of family fun; face paintings, games and a raffle! No charge to get in, just donations. It will be a fun day for a family outing! If you would like to be a sponsor or donate to Give4Gav’s Benefit Concert, please contact Amber Norton at 317-535-8245 or go to any Huntington National Bank. All sponsorships $100.00 or more will get the name of their business displayed on a banner at the fund-raising event on May 22nd at the Greenwood Amphitheater. All sponsorships $200.00 or more will get the name of their business on the banner and t-shirts. All proceeds will go to Gavin’s medical expenses, to an SMA specialist, to help raise awareness and find a cure for SMA. Every little bit helps!!!